


Understanding

by IlianaMystery



Series: Tales from Ellington and Townsville [3]
Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: Cutting, Demon Sex, Demon/Human Relationships, Demons, Depression, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Fowl Play, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Master/Pet, Mental Illness, Nightmares, Out of Character, Poor Life Choices, Protective Lover, Psychological Torture, Rape Recovery, Recovery, life change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 18:28:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 38,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17330198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IlianaMystery/pseuds/IlianaMystery
Summary: Jodi Whitley Foster is a borderline depressed 18 year old that just escaped from her suffering by running away from home and moving to Townsville in a downtown apartment. Through a quest to find a job to support herself, she ends up going to the Otto Time Diner (from Him Diddle Riddle) and meeting HIM which scares her at first. He offers her a job and she accepts.But this one decision leads too many life changing experiences for Jodi, including her falling in love with this lobster demon. But is Jodi truly ready for the burden and responsibility of being a demon's pet and the future queen of Hell?





	1. The Girl Next Door

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story back in high school when I was really into crack pairings, like the aforementioned Ace x DeeDee ship in my other story, "The Secret Daughter" which you can also check out if you're curious. The latter was written in 2012 and the former was written in 2014. 
> 
> Also, I know most people consider HIM gay, but I wrote him as bisexual in this story. The consorts he mentions are all female (both human and demon) but that's because they were given to him by his father (who is Satan in this case and he's the Antichrist basically). But later it will be mentioned that he has had intimate relations with both women and men. Lastly, it may seem like he's a bit out of character, but he's still pretty sinister and cunning in the story. He's just really protective of Jodi, so he treats her sweetly unlike anyone else. Thank you and please enjoy this old story of mine.

Morning in the foreign wasteland known as Marietta, Georgia, this is where I call home but now my home is no home for me anymore. For now, home is a packed Greyhound bus with a roundtrip to California and my bed is the window seat on the fourth row. I knew it would be a long trip, but anything was better than being at home…actually, I didn’t really want to think about home anymore. I was a Georgia Peach since birth, but this peach needed some more room to grow somewhere far away from the life I used to know. It was time for me to start anew and start a brand-new life with a whole new attitude. This was my moment to shine away from the family that didn’t understand me and the troubled people that surrounded me…

But I missed them…I missed them? No, I couldn’t possibly miss Silas or Kierra…maybe I did miss Lance and Zelda, my gramma and grandpa, but that’s all I should miss right? No, I miss the one I truly admired too but I couldn’t go back…not now…I had to make a life for myself that she would be proud of when I was to see her again. My thoughts and experiences never leave me…they’re forever etched in my brain and scarred on skin…it’s hard to let go when you remember everything and when you can’t let go, everything that happened to you becomes a part of who you are. But she warned me of what could happen…that she did. She went through more than I had and she’s stronger than I ever could be…she inspired me every day…and her memory always stays with me. The thought of her own struggle makes me stronger…makes me want to live another day in the Hell on Earth because so many times I wanted to be taken away like my fortunate sister and brother.

The sun is now beaming on me and I smile as I look out of the window. California had never looked nicer to me. For the longest, all I saw were the pictures and advertisements but now it was right in front of me and I could just run out and bask in the glow of the bright sun. But I stayed on board until we road into the many suburbs of Los Angeles and finally we stopped in a small city called Townsville and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was real…it was a real place that Michael and I had believed in years prior and now I could see it for myself. Oh, Michael…I almost forgot about him…my only real friend senior year during all the craziness…but I became who I am now because of him and my parents hated that. But I couldn’t take back who I had become…I was broken so many times in a world full of crazy people I couldn’t stay away from and now I was a fallen angel that warped into a demon child…and nothing could change me back to what I used to be…

My reflection and daydream were cut short though since our angry bus driver kept on honking his horn to convince me to leave the bus. Shook my head, and I noticed that I was the only one left on the bus and I hurried to walk out with only my carry-on and small duffle bag in my hands. I knew where I was going though, I had already purchased an apartment in the downtown area with a nice view of the city skyline and all of my furniture was supposed to be already in their places. A taxi ride there and I was right in front of the apartment complex that even Mrs. Andrews back in Virginia Highlands would envy. The friendly receptionist in the front saw to me and led me up to the 24th floor to my apartment. She handed me my key and told me all of the rules and regulations of the complex then left me to explore. 

Once I walked in, I noticed the small kitchen area that resembled a college dorm room kitchen and the bigger living area then past that was my bedroom and across from the bedroom was the bathroom and laundry room but on the corner of the living room was another bedroom and bathroom which kinda reminded me of Lindsay’s apartment back in Kennesaw. But all of the furniture was in the right place and luckily, they gave me a free TV with the apartment, so it was placed on top of my armoire with all of my media put in its place. But the best part of the apartment was the patio outside and the glass doors that looked out to the city skyline. I knew I was in paradise, but I was on my own now and just like the one I admired before me, I had to find a job to support myself since college was out of the question for now. But I felt I had time to look for a job, so I just settled in more to my new apartment and slowly fell asleep on my couch. 

 

Morning crept in slowly in the city, but the sun was brighter than in Marietta. The beams hit me, so I jumped up and realized that I had fallen asleep on the couch. A knock came from the outside of my door and I went to open it to see the receptionist standing there with a newspaper in her hands. She told me that all of the residents received a complimentary copy of the Townsville Tribune every morning and handed me the paper before she left. I was confused, but I knew it was a way for me to start searching for a job. I went through a thousand ads and started cutting them out to keep in my purse and then took a nice long shower, got dressed, and left my apartment to start my hunt.  
Unfortunately, my hunt was unsuccessful until I came across these two diners that were right across from each other. But the one on the left caught my attention first and I noticed a help wanted sign in the window. I walked in and noticed that there were only a couple of tables and only a few people that were sitting in the booths. And then directly in front of me were the front counter and the cash register where these two brunette-haired, tan skinned girls were standing just talking and popping their bubblegum. But once they noticed me, they just jumped and started whispering to each other until one told me to come closer. I followed her instruction without even thinking and after I got closer, I saw that her name was Jessica and the other was named Jenny. She asked if she could help me, but I just told her that I was looking for a job. Then she looked at Jenny and she walked to the back while Jessica stayed and told me that she was going to get the manager. 

I just took a seat at the counter and waited until Jenny came back in dragging behind someone with her. I looked more closely and saw that he was a demon. His presence scared me at first…I mean he had soulless green eyes with black irises and pupils, gelled back raven hair, pointy elf ears, claws for hands, a long tail, a goatee, makeup caked on his face and he was wearing a red dress with a pink collar and a “kiss the cook” apron in front of it. He must have seen that I was frightened because he got closer to me and held my head in his claws then smiled at me and backed away from me. He started talking to Jessica and Jenny in some strange language then they both left leaving me with him. I was still scared though since he just stared at me like he liked what was sitting in front of him and I noticed that my sweater was down exposing my chest, so I hurried to pull it back up. He just laughed and smiled before he started to talk. 

“I’m not a peeping tom, miss,” he clarified. “I like to have something to imagine…so I don’t really stare.”

“Are you sick or something?” I asked in an awkward tone.

“Sick? Oh, no. I’m a demon…we all have an eerie undertone under our voices.”

“Oh, right.”

“Did I frighten you?”

“I guess. I’ve never seen a demon up close before.”

“You’re not from here, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Hmmm…Jessica and Jenny told me that you were looking for a job.”

“Yes, actually I was.”

“Great. Let’s see how you can add up to a lunch crowd,” he said before throwing me an apron. “And what is your name, miss?”

“Jodi…Jodi Whitley Foster.”

“Jodi, well that’s a very pretty name, miss.” I smiled a little after he said that, but then I had to hurry to see to all of the customers. It was a busy shift but once the clock struck two, the diner was empty again and I was able to breathe. But as I sat down to rest, the manager came back and asked me to take a walk with him in the park. I didn’t want to refuse him, so I got up and followed him out of the door. The diner was only a block away from the park and the walk there was actually very relaxing. The sun was slightly covered by the clouds and a delightful breeze came in, so it blew my hair every which way. The atmosphere was so delightful; I didn’t even notice that he was holding my hand until I looked at him and I noticed that he looked human now. But he didn’t notice me looking at him and instead led me to this huge oak tree in the middle of the park and sat down. I just stood there until he asked me why I was standing and told me to sit by him. He elbowed the tree after I sat down and a peach fell out, so he handed it to me and by the look on his face, I figured that he knew that I had many questions.

“What is your name?” I asked first. 

“My name?” he questioned. “My name is His Infernal Majesty.”

“That’s your name?”

“Or HIM for short…I’m a prince so my father wanted to give me a princely name. Although, I’m not a big fan of it…”

“It’s unique…I’ll give you that.”

“Thank you, Jodi. Now tell me, where are you from?”

“The answer is behind the fruit,” I teased holding the peach up to the sunlight.

“You’re from Georgia. I caught me a Georgia Peach.”

“Yeah, I guess you did. Now are all of your employees girls?”

“Pretty much…they owe me anyway for willingly letting them be some of my consorts.”

“Some of your consorts? You mean all of them slept with you?”

“Yes, that’s what I mean. Many female demons will do anything to mate with a demon prince.”

“So, you take them for walks in the park too?”

“No, I actually don’t…just you. I’ve fallen for some mortal sentiments.”

“Well…do you ever sex just for pleasure?”

“Actually, I do. I have a very strong sexual prowess and I was married for quite some time ago.”

“You were married? Oh, who were they? What were they like?”

“Her name was Elysia and she was bound to me by a contract her mother signed from me. She was a beautiful, innocent soul and I loved her so much. We married when she was seventeen and I marked her as my own…she was so beautiful even as a demon and I thought we were going to be together forever…until our daughter was born. She had a difficult and long labor and then after our daughter was born, she died. I didn’t realize how fragile her life was until it was too late, and I promised that if I ever fell in love again, I would take it slow and not rush what isn’t meant to be rushed…”

“I’m sorry to hear that, HIM. How’s your daughter?” 

“Her name is Noiri and she looks just like Elysia. She’s the only part of her I have left, and I love her so much. She’s eight now and she’s like my living porcelain doll that I can dress up and make pretty.”

“Aww…that’s so sweet that you have such a good relationship with her.”

“She’s not my only daughter. I have another daughter who is ten and her name is Bindi. She looks like her mother too and basically her mother was a surrogate for me since I wanted a child…I never once slept with her even though I did like her for quite some time. Her mother’s name is Ana and she lives not too far from here.”

“Aww! You have two daughters?! Do you have a picture of them?”

“Actually, I do. This is what they look like,” he told me after he took out a wallet size picture of them. I guessed that they both looked like their mothers, but they looked like demons like their father. 

“They’re so cute! But I guess you have other children too…”

“Not really. My other ‘children’ are the monsters that used to attack this city. I’ve controlled all of them now, so they won’t bother anymore.”

“Okay, I guess. So, what made you want to make a diner? I’m sure you have plenty of other things to do.”

“I have eternity to learn new things and cooking was one of those things. I enjoyed cooking so much that I just decided to make my own diner. Of course, I didn’t have a waitressing staff, so I just took all of my consorts and made them my waitresses. It all worked out in the end and this diner has been standing for decades.”

“I guess that does make sense. I just thought you would torture lowly souls for fun or something.”

“I do that too but that’s when I’m not cooking or spending time with my girls.”

“I bet you’re a wonderful father.”

“Thank you, Jodi. But may I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Are you comfortable? It’s quite hot and you’re wearing a sweater.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, HIM. I’m fine. I’m just not a big fan of short sleeves.”

“Well, as long as you’re comfortable. I want to take you on a walk. Would you like to come with me?”

“Sure, I would love that.” So he jumped up and took my hand to lead me away from the park and into the vicinity of the city. The parks looked out to corporate buildings on both sides and in between were stores and shops. People were walking all over and looked like they were in a particular pace and they were actually pretty friendly. They all waved and smiled unlike most people in Georgia and I actually felt liked here. 

“These people are always nice and friendly even though this is one of the most dangerous cities in all of California. But you seem to be shocked by their kindness.”

“People in Georgia aren’t kind like this. Actually, most of them are quite rude. I like it here already though.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound like a place I want to be…”

“That’s why I left. I wanted to find a place where people would like me for me…”

“That won’t be too hard. Everyone is pretty strange here and that’s coming from me.”

“You’re not strange…you’re unique. No one is strange…everyone is just unique in their own special way.”

“That’s a good attitude to have, Jodi. Helps you live longer.”

“I guess. But I come from a very broken past…”

“You can tell me if you want. I’ll be here for you…”

“I don’t really want to talk about it. I just want to enjoy the sunshine with you.”

“Well, we can definitely do that.”

 

After our walk around the city, it was around five so we had to go back, finish the dinner shift, and then close the restaurant. And once he turned off the lights and locked the door, he insisted that he walk me to my apartment but I told him it was farther than walking distance so he just waved his claw and we appeared right in front of it. I was a little shocked at what he did, but he just took my hand and walked me inside. Surprisingly though, his claws didn’t scratch my skin, actually it felt soothing. He thought I was just going to walk away from him though but I hugged him and thanked him for a wonderful day. He looked confused but I just waved and walked to the elevator. Up the elevator I went and once I got to my room, I vegged out on the couch and start watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory until ten then I went to take another shower and got ready for bed. Since I was on my own, I decided to just sleep in my bra and panties since it was hot anyway…but after I hit the bed I was knocked out. 

But I didn’t stay asleep for long…no, around midnight, I felt a little sick so I got up and ran to the toilet and suddenly I felt pains in my stomach and I began to throw up. I had never felt that weak since January of this year but I couldn’t even walk back to my bed and I fell unconscious on my bathroom floor. Little did I know, HIM was watching me as I slept and when he heard a thud, he ran in and picked me up and put me back in bed. But what he saw scared him, my arms were marked up with scars from my wrist all the way up to my shoulders…and they weren’t just small cuts…they were deep cuts. But he still tucked me back into bed, kissed my forehead, and disappeared. 

 

The next morning, I didn’t remember anything that happened the night before so I just got up and started my morning routine again. I was on my way to work when HIM stopped me and asked me to come walk with him to the big oak tree again. I didn’t understand why he wanted to talk to me, but I went along with it and followed him. He could tell I was confused, but then he asked me…

“Tell me again why you wear sweaters all the time.”

“I told you I don’t like short sleeve shirts.”

“Jodi, it’s 102 degrees outside. What, you don’t sweat?”

“I’m fine, HIM. You don’t need to be worried about me.”

“You cut yourself, huh?” he asked. I wondered how he knew and I just looked at him with a confused look on my face.

“What?”

“You’re a cutter. I know you are.”

“How do you know? You don’t know anything about my life!”

“You fell last night. You had an anxiety attack.”

“How do you know that?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay last night. I put you back in bed after you fell and I saw the scars on your arms. Why did you do that to yourself?”

“Because it felt great…it got rid of all the pain I felt…”

“It felt great? You’re mutilating yourself and that’s a good thing?”

“Why do you care so much about what I did to myself?”

“Because I care about you. I know we just met, but I feel almost indebted to you.”

“You don’t have to feel guilty for what I did to myself.”

“What made you do this?”

“My life had been nothing but disappointment and sorrow…sure I had happy days, but they were always leveled out by bad days. The cuts on my right arm are for multiple people I cared for that ended up hurting me and the cuts on my left arm are for the one person I admired that hurt so much this year and it broke me to see her so hurt…my heart’s been broken into a million pieces…there is that what you wanted to know?!”

“Jodi, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“Well, you did. Now just leave me alone. I don’t want to talk to you anymore!”

“But Jodi…I didn’t mean to hurt you…”


	2. The Pieces of Jodi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter was in Jodi's P.O.V. so this chapter is in HIM's P.O.V. This story is written to where the P.O.V. alternates between Jodi and HIM depending on the chapter. So the next chapter will be Jodi's P.O.V. then alternates to HIM and so on and so forth. Thanks and enjoy!

That day in the park was that moment that I realized that the young woman I began to fall in love with was just a confused and broken teenager that was looking for someone to repair her broken heart. But she began to act funny around me after that day. She would still come to work but she wouldn’t look at me or talk to me and when I went on my lunch break, she would just stay behind and lay her head on a tabletop and I could hear her crying. Jessica and Jenny started to notice her change in behavior too and eventually I decided to ask them for some advice to make it up to her. They told me that if I just showed her how much I cared for her; maybe she would come around and want to be around me again. And once they said that, I had plenty of ideas to sweep her off her feet and woo her.

One morning, I went to her apartment and started cooking breakfast for her in her kitchen. Five minutes after I finished making the pancakes, I heard a noise come from her bedroom and then she came in wearing her red kimono robe and her long hair was pulled to the side. She just looked at me with a smirk on her face then she sat down. I didn’t tell her anything; I just placed the plate of pancakes in front of her and went about making the eggs and cooking the bacon. I could tell that she liked the breakfast though because she was smacking on those pancakes which made me smile and then I started to hear her giggle and laugh until I realized she put the TV on and was watching some cartoon at the table. Her laugh made me blush a little and I knew I wanted to keep her laughing and smiling as much as I could. The eggs and bacon were finished soon after and I placed them by her while she was still glued to the TV. But then her giggling stopped when it went to commercial.

“Why would you make breakfast for me?” she asked in a shocked tone. “I snapped at you and ignored you all this time.”

“Because I care about you.”

“No one has ever cared about me like that…why would you be any different?”

“Because I’m not like the simpleminded mortals you knew…nor would I ever be like any of them.”

“Oh, well thank you. This is really good too. I’m really enjoying this.”

“Well, thank you, Miss Jodi. May I also have the honor in walking you to work?”

“Yeah, I guess you can.”

After our brunch and lunch shift, it was our lunch break again so Jodi was quick to walk outside so that we could go to the park. The sun was beaming once again and I still didn’t like that she was wearing a sweater, but I guess that made her happy so I shouldn’t bother anyway. Once we sat down, she leaned up next to me so I put my arm around her shoulder and held her closer to me. Then suddenly, she leaned her head closer to my torso and then she jumped. I was a little shocked why she jumped until she asked, 

“Are you vibrating?”

“Vibrating? Oh, no. Demons don’t have hearts so when we get excited; the inside of our chests makes a vibrating type sound. It’s the same idea as a mortal’s heart beating really fast.”

“Oh, I’m still getting used to all the nuances. So I guess you want to know all about my life then, right?”

“Only if you want me to know.”

“I don’t mind you knowing now. I’m from Austell, Georgia but my family moved us to Marietta, Georgia. I had an older twin sister named Jori but she died shortly after birth and I had a little brother but he hung himself in his closet when he was fourteen. I began cutting at the beginning of my senior year because nothing was going right and I felt like it was the only way to subside the pain but I also had suicidal thoughts. I only had one real friend, Michael Lawrence, who truly understood me and all of the other people who I thought were my friends just ended up disappointing me. The one that I admired was my old Biology and Psychology teacher who was a 59 year old Italian woman from New Jersey and she’s the reason why I cut up my entire left arm…”

“Wow, that’s some deep history. Wait, did you say 59 year old Italian woman from New Jersey?”

“Yeah.”

“Like older woman with a sista body, really thick brown curly hair, and is about say 5’7?”

“Yeah, basically. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.”

“Um, okay. So that’s basically my life in a nutshell. I really don’t want to get any deeper than that though.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to get any deeper. Only tell me what you want me to know.”

“Thanks, you’re really easy to talk to.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, you’re just really sweet…”

“I’m kinda of the black sheep of the family anyway.”

“Black sheep? How come?”

“My mother left when I was a baby. She was a mortal woman that my father kidnapped so he could have a true heir to the throne. I’m a crowned royal but my five older brothers: Lafayette, Marquette, Robespierre, Napoleon, and Alexis, are all bigger than me and their mothers are valley French girls…but they get to see their mothers all of the time and I don’t even get to see my own. Then I have a little sister, Zariah, and she is never really around since she doesn’t agree with the ideals of the demon world. She lives in Barbados right now and she’s the daughter of our new queen, Adanna, who is also a mortal from Mali.”

“You have a deep history too. I wonder why she left…”

“I still don’t know. I know my father truly loved her, but he never tells me anything about her.”

“Hmmm, I guess it’s just a mystery now.”

“I guess so. So what was that show you were watching earlier?”

“The cartoon? Wander Over Yonder. It’s one of my favorite cartoons.”

“Oh, I could tell. You were giggling so much.”

“You heard? Gosh, I hate my laugh.”

“Why do you? I like your laugh. It’s adorable.”

“Thank you.”

“Jodi, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

 

Three o’clock was the beginning of our dinner shift so we had to hurry to get back to the diner before the rush of single moms and their school bound kids started coming in. Luckily, we got there around 2:55 and no one was there but the waitressing staff. Then at the strike of three, a bunch of customers came running in and we had to serve all of them. But while everyone else were working, two of my other consorts: Rayna and Jayna were talking amongst themselves about my treatment to Jodi. 

“Who does she think she is coming in here and taking our man,” Rayna scoffed.

“I know. She’s just a mortal. I don’t see his fascination with her.”

“I feel like he’s gotten soft since he’s been here, Jayna. And what does she have to hide? She’s been wearing sweaters every day!”

“I know. Everyone knows that once the sun’s out, the sleeves go. I don’t know why he always has to take her to the park too.”

“Yeah, before she came…he would actually spend time with us and talk to us…now all he does is worry about her and talk to her.”

“Oh, dear sister, she must be hiding something like you said. We just have to expose her.”

“Fine with me, Jayna.” The time was almost four and the crowd started to subside a little slowly. But Jodi was still on the floor with Jessica and Jenny working hard for their shift. But then I wondered where Rayna and Jayna were until they both came out of the back room and began to work too. At six, no one was left at the diner so it was closing time and we all had to clean the tables and the counter. Well, Jodi had to wash the dishes so she went to the kitchen to start washing them. I didn’t notice but Rayna and Jayna followed her to the back and start some confrontation. 

“Hey, Jodi is it?” Rayna started. 

“Yeah, it’s Jodi. What are you doing back here?”

“We just wanted to tell you how grateful we are that you decided to work here. It’s an honor to have you here.”

“Wow, thank you. I love working here.”

“Do you like HIM?” Jayna asked. 

“Do I like HIM? Yeah, I guess I do…as a friend. He’s really sweet…”

“Why do you always wear sweaters?” Rayna asked. 

“Sweaters make me feel comfortable. Is that a problem?”

“It’s like 102 degrees outside. It’s a little strange,” Jayna remarked. 

“It seems like you have something to hide. Is that true?”

“Why is that any of your business? What I do is my business.”

“No, no. What you do here is our business,” Rayna declared. “You’re in our territory. We’re his consorts not you and you shouldn’t be getting special treatment from him.”

“So this is what this is about? Are you jealous of the way he treats me?”

“Jealous? Why would we be jealous of you?!” Jayna asked. “You’re not even that cute. You’re just a simple mortal girl that he probably is just going to use for sexual pleasures and then throw away like the garbage you are.”

“You mean like how he only use you for sexual pleasures and threw you to the curb?!”

“How dare you talk to my sister that way?!” Rayna exclaimed. Then all of a sudden, I heard screaming coming from the kitchen and when I walked in, I saw Jodi lying on the floor with blood coming from her right arm and the sleeves from her sweater were torn off exposing the scars on both of her arms. Rayna and Jayna were nowhere in sight, but I knew they had something to do with what happened. 

I picked her up and told Jessica and Jenny to lock up while I took her home. I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries, but I had to strip her down to her underwear and then I soaked her open scars with alcohol and wrapped up her right arm in a bandage then laid her in her bed and tucked her in. But I couldn’t leave her…I just sat in the chair near her bed and watched her sleep until I became curious about the people she had in her life her senior year. With a wave of my claw, multiple screens appeared in front of me and her whole life played right in front of my eyes but one clip made me do a double take. It was in her Psychology class and just as she described, the woman fit that description so I had to pause it and then put it right next to another picture I saw of her and it was a perfect match. Then I realized that her life mirrored the one that I lost. Then the screens started to disappear until one stayed and I noticed that it was her mother…it was a grim sight and I didn’t know how I was to break it to her once she woke up from her nightmare. 

Morning fell not too long after my discoveries were made and I got up from where I was sitting and started to cook breakfast for her. But she did not jump up as quickly this time around and by the time I was done making all of the food, she walked in just wearing her slip and the bandage around her arm. I saw her and I smiled before I left the pan on the stove and hugged her. I felt her extend her left arm to hug me back and then she giggled and went to turn on the TV again. After the TV was on, she walked back by me and kissed my cheek then went to sit in her spot. I just blushed then smiled and went on to serve her food to her. I loved to watch her eat so this time I sat at the table by her. 

“What was that kiss for?”

“For helping me. That was really sweet, but I want to know why you’re being so kind to me.”

“I guess you just remind me of my mother…well, from what I hear other elder demons say about her. She was just as sweet and bubbly as you.”

“Well, luckily you’re nothing like my dad.”

“Oh, about that…I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your mother strangled herself to death yesterday. Your father found her in their room with a rope around her neck lying on the ground face down. It was after they got into this huge argument.”

“What?! He made her kill herself?!”

“I guess so, Jodi. I’m sorry.” Once she began to cry, it truly broke me. I leaned in closer to where she was and let her cry on my shoulder as I held her head closer. 

“I was never a big fan of either one of them, but Kierra always believed in me no matter how much we would fight. Silas is such an asshole…he made Joni kill himself.”

“Jodi, I know you’re hurt but I just want to let you know that I’ll always be here for you…whenever you need to talk…I’ll be here.”

“Thank you, HIM. You’re the best friend I’ve never had.”

“Now tell me, what happened yesterday if you even remember.”

“It wasn’t an anxiety attack…actually, Rayna and Jayna attacked me. They’re jealous of the way you treat me. They think you don’t spend as much time with them now that I’m in the picture.”

“Oh, they are more of the jealous type then Jessica and Jenny. I figured they had something to do with it. They must have scratched you up more.”

“I don’t even know…I blacked out…but I guess they did.”

“Well, I won’t let this happen again. I’m going to have a talk with them.” 

“No, you don’t. I got in the way of your system…I can just quit.”

“You’re not going to quit just because of them. I don’t want you to leave.”

“Okay, I guess I won’t quit then.”

“Good. I’m glad you won’t.”

 

A week passed by and I noticed that Jodi was getting into the swing of things and she enjoyed going to the park with me. Then I started staying at her apartment to watch movies with her or watch her favorite TV shows, The Big Bang Theory, Wander Over Yonder, and Steven Universe, with her. I loved every moment I spent with her but then I realized that I was falling deeply in love with her…but I didn’t want to rush her…I wanted her to be ready before we went to the next level. But it was so hard to fight temptation because she would always wear her see-through slip whenever we would hang out and passed her scars, her skin was just so inviting. But I especially liked it when she would lean on me and my chest would start to vibrate and then I could hear her heart beat too. I guess she felt comfortable around me now and I was happy that she did. 

But I knew that Rayna and Jayna were jealous of the friendship that we developed because they would always make a face when they saw me holding her hand whenever we walked into the diner. And Jessica and Jenny knew that I was smitten with her but they didn’t mind that I was and were actually happy that I found happiness again ever since Elysia died. But then disaster striked again and during the brunch shift, Jodi fell violently ill and ran to the bathroom. I didn’t want to go in until I heard a thud and I ran in to see her bleeding from her left arm lying face down on the ground. Then I saw a razor on the counter and I quickly broke it in my claw and picked her up and brought her home. I told Jessica to take over the shift while I made sure she was okay. I wondered why she would even cut herself again until I thought about her mother’s passing. So I figured that was why she had another anxiety attack. But she looked so angelic as she slept until an hour later when her eyes began to open and see looked surprised to see she was in her bed. I went by her side and held her close before I began to play in her hair. She looked up at me but then I kissed her forehead and took her left hand in my claw. 

“Why am I here, HIM? Did you take me here?! I have to finish my shift.”

“No, you need to rest.”

“I’m fine, HIM.”

“Oh, you are, huh? Then why were you throwing up and why did I find you bleeding from another scar on your left arm?”

“I had an anxiety attack and the only way to counteract it was by cutting myself again.”

“I just don’t get it, Jodi. Why do you keep on doing this to yourself? Is this because of your mother?”

“Yes, I freaked out okay. I’m not good with handling death…I even cried when Mr. Mason died and I didn’t even know him! Cutting is the only way to make me feel better.”

“No, it’s not. You’re harming yourself and you don’t need to do it anymore.”

“Why do you even care?! I’m fine…”

“Because I love you, Jodi.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m in love with you and I hate to see you doing this to yourself.”

“How long have you felt this way about me?”

“For a while now. I felt this was the right time to tell you.”

“Well, I love you too.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, you’re the only other guy that ever really cared about me other than Michael.”

“Have you ever had your first kiss?”

“No, but I would like to experience it right now.” I didn’t know she would give me the signal so soon, but she leaned in closer to my face for me to kiss her. I knew she was just as ready for this moment as I was and then suddenly our lips touched. There was no tongue action but it was still a blissful kiss. She ended up pulling me down to where I was lying on top of her fully clothed but then I moved my claws down to her hip as she pulled my head closer to hers. Then I noticed how fast her heart was racing underneath me and then she pulled away and smiled at me letting me know that she was satisfied and didn’t want to go any further. 

“You’re a really good kisser,” she started. “That felt really nice.”

“Yeah, I guess it did.”

“We should probably get back to work now.”

“No, you should just rest. I’ll return to work.”

“I can work another shift. I’m fine, HIM. I promise.”

“Okay.”

I didn’t believe that she was okay but I just went along with her and let her go back to work. But when we walked in, she quickly went to clock in to the next shift and I just went by Jessica and Jenny who were manning the front counter. They looked at me with smug looks on their faces so I knew they expected that something was up. 

“What happened earlier at her place?” Jessica asked. 

“Yeah, you musta got something. You look way too happy.”

“Nothing happened between us.”

“Oh, really? I know that look, HIM,” Jenny insisted. “You act as though we never slept together.”

“It was nothing like that…gosh, Jenny! Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Then what did happen?”

“I kissed her alright, Jessica. That’s all that happened.”

“Oooh! How long was it?!”

“I don’t kiss and tell, Jenny. That’s supposed to be between us.”

“I guess we can’t pester you anymore. I just hope Rayna and Jayna don’t find out. They seem to be really jealous of her.”

“Yeah, I know. They attacked her the other day. I didn’t give them any heat about it though,” I moaned walking back into the kitchen. Little did I know, Rayna and Jayna did hear and it was worse because they were all working the shift so I should have known something was going to happen. An hour later and I figured everything was going right until…I heard a thud and so I ran out and Rayna and Jayna were acting the part like they were worried about her. But I could tell from the scene what happened. She was covered in food and her kneecap was sticking out so she was holding onto her leg. All of the customers looked concerned too, but then I walked in and told everyone to just back away from her. Then I picked her up and told Jessica and Jenny to clean up the floor. But Rayna and Jayna tried to convince me she was okay, but I wasn’t shaken and walked out of the diner. 

 

The sky was dim and the breeze was cold and the sun was nowhere in sight. It was a dreary summer evening but I couldn’t observe for too long since I had to get her back home. It was strange how I had to worry about her constantly for anxiety attacks or her mutilating her arms, and I knew they all wondered why I cared about her so much…since the day I first saw her. She did remind me of my mother and I never really had a female companion that I loved so dearly except for Elysia…but there was something different about her.

I took the long way home though, just to get my thoughts straight, and when I looked down I noticed that she had fallen asleep. So I was as quiet and gentle as I could be as I made it to her apartment. But as soon as the lights went on, her eyes shot open but I could tell she was still uncomfortable. I found a towel lying on the ground by her bed so I placed it down on the bed before I laid her down on it. Then I went to her bathroom and started running her water.

“HIM,” she called. “What are you doing?” I walked back into the room and said,

“I’m running your bath water. I need to get you cleaned off.”

“My knee really hurts. I don’t know if I’ll be…”

“I’ll carry you and place you in the tub…if you would like…”

“Okay, well then can you help me out of my clothes?”

“I guess I can.”

“Oh, HIM. I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable. I trust you.”

“No, I’m fine.” I really did hesitate to do what she wanted…but I went along with it and tried not to stare. She just giggled when she saw my reaction but then I picked her up and placed her in the tub. 

“Wow, this is really relaxing. Is this rose water?”

“Yes, it’s my favorite. I just wanted something soothing for you.”

“Well, if it’s your favorite, why don’t you come in?”

“I don’t think that’s…”

“Oh, HIM. It’s not like we’re having sex. We’re just bathing is all. You act as though you never seen me in my underwear.”

“I just never seen you naked before…and you’ve never seen me naked.”

“I’m 18, I know all about male anatomy…trust me, I had a teacher that was very graphic about that type of stuff…”

“Alright, then…” I still hesitated but instead of stripping in front of her, I just disappeared and reappeared underneath her in the tub. She rested on my lap and I held her by her waist. 

“See, this isn’t so bad. I like this.”

“Well, I guess whatever makes you happy.” Then I looked down at her arms and noticed that the fresh cut on her left arm had healed and left a red scar. But then it made me want to question her again. 

“So tell me, why did you cut yourself so much on your left arm just for Dr. Jensen?”

“Wait, how do you know her name?”

“Uh, lucky guess.”

“Lucky guess, my ass! You spied on my past life with your weird demon powers, huh?”

“Okay, maybe a little. But did she have that many issues that you cut yourself that many times?”

“Since we’re on the topic, yes. But I don’t really want to get into it. I can’t stop thinking about her and just wondering how she is now or what she’s doing…but it’s none of my business so I never ask and I torture myself in the process. She’s the reason why I started having anxiety attacks.”

“So you care about her a lot, huh?”

“Yeah, I really do because honestly sometimes I could see my own self in her and I would just wonder if that’s what I would become in the future…you just never really know how broken a person is until they reach rock bottom. But I put those problems on myself and I made myself sick in the process.”

“Jodi, you can’t save everyone. I know you care, but you just can’t save everyone.”

“I know, HIM. But I just wanted to see her happy again…that’s all I ever wanted for her…for her to just be happy.”

“Well, I think she appreciated your concern and if she didn’t, well she has poor judgment. I know we basically just met but I can see how wonderful you are already.”

“That’s so sweet, HIM. Thank you,” she said before she kissed me. “You’re wonderful too. I’m so happy I found you.”

“If you don’t mind me asking too, what was your family life like?”

“Oh, it was Hell…Silas, my father, was an egomaniac that had a bit of an anger problem and would say things that would come out absolutely wrong. Kierra, my mother, told me that he was not like that when they first got married but after my older twin sister, Jori, died he changed…my mother was almost just like me…very caring and sensitive and sweet, but she never stood up for herself and her and Silas would always get into fights. Joni, my little brother, was a lost cause and Silas pushed him to the edge. He would always talk about what a disgrace he was and curse at him until eventually he took his own life. I guess he sent Kierra to the edge too but now he’s alone so I’m content. I know that Kierra, Jori, and Joni are in a better place. He made me hate myself last school year and I thought that I was worthless but then I got the strength to run away and I bought my apartment here and then snuck out of my house, bought a Greyhound bus ticket, and left Marietta. The only thing special to me that I took with me was this picture of me and Dr. Jensen at my graduation. It’s in my nightstand drawer.”

“He made you feel worthless? What kind of a father is that?! You didn’t have a father…you had a coward you called father.”

“He was one of the reason why I started cutting.”

“Well, he’s not here and he won’t be able to hurt you anymore. I didn’t realize how broken you were until now…well, I want to be the one that heals your broken heart.”

“It will be a challenge.”

“But you’re worth a little challenge.” 

After our bath, I helped her get out of the tub but she told me to just wait for her in her bedroom while she tried to dress herself. So I let her do her thing and I just turned on her TV. Then she came in wearing just her bra and panties and she crawled into bed and leaned against me. I looked at her with a smile and then went back to the TV so she got up and pulled me down to her level so she could kiss me then she jumped on my lap and kissed me again. She smiled at me again and just rested in my arms while I turned the channel to The Big Bang Theory. Then I disappeared and reappeared by the door but before I could leave, she started to moan in a sad tone. 

“HIM, where are you going?”

“I’m going back to my own domain…”

“Do you have to? My knee still kinda hurts and I don’t want you to leave.” Her petition made me rethink my plan and when I looked at her, I saw she looked a little sad to see me go which really got me. 

“Fine, I guess I can stay the night and cuddle with my girl.”

“You will?!” she chirped before I appeared by her again. She crawled back by me so I held her in my arms and kissed her forehead. 

“I love you, HIM,” she told me as she cuddled closer to me. 

“I love you too, Jodi. Sweet dreams, my angel.”


	3. Demon's Pet

Morning fell again in the city and the sun beamed in my face again. I was under my sheets lying in HIM’s grasp and he was completely naked. But I wasn’t freaked out at all; instead I stayed where I was and cuddled closer to him. But my alarm went off at eight and I hit snooze twice but it still woke HIM up and he kissed my cheek and forehead to wake me up. I finally woke up after the fifth time he kissed me and I suddenly turned around which frightened him and I kissed him back. But then I noticed how different he looked without makeup and he was actually quite handsome without it. I don’t know if he noticed my reaction though but I did keep on touching his face. 

Then suddenly, he jumped out of bed and then picked me up and led me to my shower. He started running the water so I stripped down and followed him inside. I still wonder if it was weird for me to be in a shower with a naked male and not expect for him to want to have sex, but I knew that HIM was willing to wait for me. The water was lukewarm so after I placed my shower cap on my head correctly; I went right under it while HIM just leaned on the back wall. I didn’t expect anything to happen until I felt a brush on my back and I looked to see him scrubbing my back. I just laughed and he told me that he wanted to help me get clean so I let him and I returned the favor. Then he turned the water off and helped me get out of the shower and started wiping me off with a towel. Then I noticed a change…after I was finished drying off, I noticed that the scars on my arms were gone. 

“Are you alright?” he asked me with a smug look on his face. 

“I think so…but where did my scars go?”

“I scrubbed them away. You need to start anew. You’re in a new place with a new cast of people…you have a clean slate and I’m willing to help you grow stronger so that the day that you do see Dr. Jensen again, you’ll be the Jodi that not only she will be proud of but the Jodi you’ll be proud of.”

“You didn’t have to do that for me,” I said before I started to cry. 

“Yes, I did. I did this out of love, because like I said before, I love you and I truly care about you.” That’s when he wiped away my tears and hugged me…but that wasn’t enough…after he pulled back, he smiled at me and then I leaned in to kiss him. 

“I love you too, HIM.”

“I know,” he said before he hugged me again. “Now, why don’t you go relax and watch some Steven Universe or Wander Over Yonder in your room while I get myself together? I have the perfect outfit for you to wear once I’m done.” 

 

It felt like it took him an hour to get ready but then he came in with makeup caked on his face and he was wearing his favorite dress and boots again. I knew he probably saw that I was confused since there wasn’t an outfit in his claws but he just smiled and waved his claw in front of me. Then I looked down to see a baby blue tank top on me with some denim shorts and I had silver sandals on my feet. But my Ace bandage on my knee took away from the effect. I guess I was prepared for summer weather now.

“There, now don’t you look pretty?”

“I do…gosh; it feels weird wearing short sleeves again. It’s been a while.”

“I guess it feels liberating?”

“Yeah, it does and I can actually feel my hair swaying against my back now.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re comfortable now. But you can’t really work on a sore knee, so I would get something to occupy your time but you can just sit at the table no one really sits at while we work.”

“Okay, I actually have the perfect way for me to occupy my time.” So I picked up my Hello Kitty hobo bag and put my two journals, drawing pad, and drawing supplies in it and followed him out. The sun was out and beaming still and all of the people were out too since school was finally out for the local kids and teens. It felt so liberating to see everyone happy around me and to get the normal greetings from everyone I passed. I felt brand new in a way and it was all thanks to HIM and I knew he was happy to see me finally content for once. 

When we walked into the diner, everyone just stopped and stared at me. Jessica and Jenny looked at each other and smiled but I knew that Rayna and Jayna were upset. All the guys sitting at the tables nearby where whistling at me and talking amongst themselves about how I looked and all the single women with their children were complimenting me. I never really felt beautiful until that moment and I loved that feeling. I walked over to where Jessica and Jenny were standing and they started to talk to me. 

“Wow, Jodi! You look great!” Jessica started. 

“Yeah, you look hot!” Jenny exclaimed. 

“HIM gave me a makeover.”

“Makeup does wonders,” Jessica remarked. 

“This isn’t makeup. He scrubbed my scars away.”

“Wait, what does that mean?” Jenny asked. 

“It’s nothing. Jodi, why don’t you go sit at that bloggers table over there?”

“Okay, HIM,” I cooed before I kissed his cheek. The bloggers table was at the end of the diner and it was one booth chair that faced the wall and the table was attached to the wall. I thought it was just a sick joke from Tumblr at first, but then I saw they had one like that in the diner and I couldn’t help but laugh. I started laying out my drawing supplies, pad, and journal but then one of the pages I folded fell out and before I could get it, Rayna stepped on it and picked it up. 

“What is this? Oh, is it a little drawing of Dr. Jensen?”

“Wait, how do you know who she is?”

“All of the demons know who she is. She’s not just a keepsake for you simpleminded mortals in Georgia. Oh, I guess you really admired her.”

“Yeah, I did. Now give it back…”

“Oh, I don’t think so. Didn’t HIM tell you to let go of the past before he had his merry way with you last night? You aren’t hurt, you little faker!”

“I think you know I’m hurt. You were the one that made me do that!”

“Oh, guilty as charged. Oh, and just so you know, she’ll never be proud of you. You’re just so awkward,” she teased before she threw the paper back at me. She laughed which made me angry, but I just put the paper back in my journal and started to draw. 

By the end of the brunch and lunch shift, I had drawn twelve pictures and when I looked over; I saw that HIM told the girls to go out for their lunch break so it would just be me and him in the diner. Then he came over to me with a plate of brunch that he placed in front of me. Then he sat by me and placed his arm around my shoulder. 

“Are you not going to eat?” he asked me since I was just staring at my plate. “You didn’t have breakfast this morning.”

“Am I a failure?” I asked looking at him with worried eyes. “She’ll never be proud of me. I’m just so awkward around her…”

“What? Are you listening to what Rayna told you? She’s just trying to get inside of your head. I’m sure when you see her again; she’ll be proud and happy to see you.”

“Are you sure?”

“She’s a demon, Jodi. Demons feed on the insecurities and frailty of mortals. She’s trying to weaken you and I won’t let her break you.”

“Thank you for caring. I’ll eat.”

“How’s your knee?” he suddenly asked after I started eating. 

“It still hurts but it’s nice that I’m resting it.”

“Would you like some ice?”

“Not right now. But maybe later.”

“Okay, whatever you say. Wow, you really did occupy your time.” I noticed that he was looking at all of my drawings and one of them really caught his attention and he picked it up and looked at it closer. It was a picture of me and him sitting under the big oak and he was in his true form. And underneath it were pictures I drew that illustrated some of my experiences from last school year. But there was one that he laughed at. It was a picture of me and Dr. Jensen and I was wearing my Hello Kitty couture and in a little voice bubble, Dr. Jensen was calling me “Miss Kitty”. And he wanted to know more about that one so I told him and he started to laugh. Then he asked about all of the other girls I drew and I told them their names were Theodora, Simone, Melissa, Laurie, Alyssa, Natasha, Lindsay, Briella, Marie, Riley, Ashley, Jessica, and Carrie and they all had a major role in all of the craziness that happened that year…

“Wow, you had a very eventful senior year.”

“I know. But misfortunes make for good stories.”

“I guess that makes sense. You’re very talented. This reminds me of a lost love.”

“A lost love? You had another other than Elysia and Ana?”

“Her name was Bubbles. She was a very talented artist too.”

“Wow, I hope she didn’t have a father that hindered her…”

“No, her father wasn’t bad like Silas. He was actually very encouraging but he hated me. He’s actually Ana’s husband.”

“Wow, oh the irony! Well, I’m glad she had a father that believed in her. My father always yelled at me when I drew…he wanted me to be smart like him…but Kierra believed in me and she never hindered me…I’m just glad I’m away from him.”

“I’m glad you’re away from him too…or I would have never found you. Now, I probably know the answer to this, but did Rayna and Jayna make you fall?”

“Yes, they did. They think we had sex last night.”

“I know. Jessica and Jenny think the same thing. You shouldn’t have phrased it like that.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just so damn socially awkward.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s fine. Let them think what they want.”

“You’re right.”

 

So of course, Jessica and Jenny kept on asking HIM about what we were doing every night since I guess they knew he would stay at my place every night now. He kept on egging them on that we were having sex, even though we never really went further than cuddling in my bed. I liked that he was because Rayna and Jayna were getting even more jealous. And we started a routine now everyday even though I still couldn’t work. Eventually, HIM started checking on me even more than normal and would always bring me an ice pack to put on it. I liked that he was that concerned about me, so I never sweat him about it. And every night after a nice warm bath, he would always massage my leg which was nice too. 

A week passed and finally my knee started to feel better, but HIM still wasn’t sure so he didn’t let me go to work and he didn’t go to work. Instead, we just stayed in my apartment and he made me practice walking on that leg. It was a failure the first couple of times I did it and the last time I tried, I fell but he caught me and kissed me before laying me back in my bed. Then he came over by my side and cuddled with me. I just laughed and elbowed him in the stomach which made him tighten his grip around me and kiss my cheek multiple times. Then that reminded me of the question that I needed to ask him ages ago…

“HIM, why do you wear a dress and makeup?” I felt him loosen his grip and shake a little then he started kissing my cheek again and suddenly, he pulled my hair from my ear and whispered, “It makes me feel comfortable. Like sweaters used to make you feel comfortable.”

“Oh, I understand. I was just curious…but I also noticed that your chest only vibrates when you’re around me…”

“You’ve very observant,” he moaned. 

“Dr. Jensen said the same thing!” I chirped. 

“She nitpick everything about you, though. Well, how do I explain this? Oh, yes. Well, that means that I like being around you. You make my non-existent heart race.”

“Wow, I never had that effect on a boy before. This is different.”

“Oh, Jodi, I do hate when you compare me to simpleminded mortals.”

“I apologize. I didn’t mean it.”

“I’m just teasing. You’re so easily rattled,” he teased with another kiss on my cheek.

“I want to try and walk on my leg again.”

“You never give up, huh?”

“No, I’m very persistent.”

“Okay, then I guess we can try it again.” So he let me go and I slowly got off of my bed and started to walk after I straightened my leg. And I noticed that I could walk fine now and when I looked over to HIM, he noticed too and smiled before I walked back to him. He hugged me and showered me with kisses then told me that I could start working again the next day and we could go back to the park. 

 

The next day, we took a nice warm shower and went through our new morning routine. And today, he waved his claw in front of me and a sleeveless top with matching shorts appeared on me and a pair of brown wedge sandals appeared on my feet. Then he insisted on putting a touch of makeup on my face so I let him and he handed me a mirror and I was really impressed. Today he remembered to make breakfast for us again before we left for work then he took my hand and we took the long way to work. But once we walked into the diner, Jessica and Jenny were standing behind the counter but Rayna and Jayna were also sitting by the counter and they both turned around to look at me. 

“Oh, look! He dressed up his pet again! Doesn’t she know that she’s just his porcelain doll with bad skin?!” Rayna teased. 

“His pet? What does that mean?!” I demanded. 

“Don’t mind them, Jodi. You just clock in and put on your apron. It’s going to be a busy morning. And Rayna, would you like to come with me?”

“Oh no, I’m in trouble,” she dramatized. He brought her to the kitchen so I didn’t see anything but I heard him scolding her and then she walked out crying and she gave me this dead stare before she left the building. Then he came back in and looked at all of us.

 

“Rayna is going on a break until the dinner shift. As for you, Jayna, I don’t want you disrespecting or mistreating Jodi anymore. She’s one of my employees and she deserves to be treated with the upmost respect. And she isn’t my pet…she’s my girlfriend and my equal.”

“Your girlfriend?” I asked happily. 

“Yes, but I’ll fill you in at the park.”

“Okay,” I said with the hottest feeling cheeks. 

“Yes, master,” Jayna said in a submissive tone. “I apologize Jodi.”

“Thank you, Jayna.” But I noticed that she looked upset and then she just walked away without saying another word to me. HIM didn’t even pay her anymore mind and went back into the kitchen but the Zelda came out of me and I became concerned about her feelings. And I guess I was easy to read since Jessica called me out.

“Don’t worry about her,” she started. “You mortals are so susceptible to caring for one another. It makes me sick.”

“Way to be harsh, Jessica. Look, Jodi, I know you care about everyone’s feelings but she has no feelings…we’re demons, we don’t really have emotions in the sense of mortals.”

“That sounds crazy. HIM shows a lot of emotion…”

“He’s been around mortals for too long and his mother was a mortal. True blood demons don’t show emotions or remorse for anything. We just don’t mind you…but we could thrive off of your insecurities and frailty like those two,” Jenny explained. 

“But you all are his consorts…I don’t understand why you don’t hate me too…I just threw off your order and…”

“We already knew you were going to come. It was your destiny to end up here. You don’t see it now, but you will when the time comes.”

“Wow, thanks Jenny.”

“No problem. Oh and if you’re wondering why they’re so bitter, it’s because they were his first consorts but then we came into the picture and they still hate us.”

“So they really are the jealous type.”

“Pretty much,” Jessica remarked. 

 

Our lunch break came fast and as I was waiting for HIM to meet me by the door, Rayna walked back in with a fake smile on her face and she just waved at me like Dr. Jensen would whenever I would acknowledge her and then she walked to the Employees’ Room. Jayna followed her in but HIM didn’t pay it any mind, came by me, took my hand, and then led me outside for our walk. The weather was more controlled than normal and a breeze came in that made it feel like it was 73 degrees like a day in spring in Georgia. The people were all out and about again and they were just as friendly as ever too. And as we sat down by the big oak, a little boy with the longest silky hair ran over by us kicking a little ball and I caught it and handed it back to him. Then a woman with tan skin and jet black hair came over to get him. And her smile strangely reminded me of Dr. Jensen’s smile. 

“Oh, come back here, Leo. Oh, I apologize about him…he’s just so energetic.”

“Oh, no. He’s fine. And he’s really cute.”

“Thank you. I just know you’ll be a great mother one day. Bless you, Jodi.” I was a little confused that she knew my name, but before I could question her, she and the little boy were gone. I scratched my head a little and then leaned against HIM. But I knew he knew that I was a little confused. 

“Was it just me or did she have the same smile as Dr. Jensen?” he asked me. 

“She kinda sounded like her too.”

“Well that was weird. But it’s not like weird things don’t always happen here. But anyway, I wanted to officially ask you to be my girlfriend.” Then he made this box appear and inside of it looked like a black choker with a gold medallion on it that had a blood red ‘H’ on it. I shined in the sunlight and I immediately loved it. 

“Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend!” I chirped before he put the necklace around my neck. “But does this make me your pet? And what does that even mean?”

“Oh, I never wanted you to find this out…but a demon’s pet is a mortal woman that the demon takes as his object of sexual pleasure. It’s like being a consort except since it is a mortal, demons usually use them for more than just sex…usually also for entertainment. But I don’t see you as a pet…I see you as my girlfriend.”

“You’ve been around mortals too long. You seem to be enamored by mortal sentiments. All the demons see me as your pet but you see me as an equal. HIM, are you the only demon that shows emotions or true affection?”

“I’m afraid so, Jodi.”

“Is this because you spend so much time in this realm or because your mother was a mortal?”

“Probably both. But I’m not sure. But you have to be careful, Jodi. Townsville is filled with demons galore and even though you’re my girlfriend now, other demons will still try to take you away from me.”

“Oh, I think I understand. But HIM, is it true that Rayna and Jayna were your first consorts?”

“Yes, they were. My father brought them to me. They were twins so I had to give them both the equal amount of sexual pleasure. They both birthed some of the monsters that used to attack this city and I guess what happen was that they fell in love with me and I wasn’t truly in love with them. My father noticed so then he brought me Jessica and Jenny and the same thing happened but I still didn’t truly love them either…”

“Wow, so I guess you wanted to find love on your own.”

“Basically. My father found pleasure in sleeping around until he met my mother and Adanna. But I was never like that. I wanted to find true love and I guess I’ve failed a couple of times. I just hope things will turn out right for me soon.”

“I do too,” I assured before I reached up and kissed him. 

 

The breeze began to pick up again and the leaves on the tree branches began to shake. But I guess it was soothing to HIM because he fell asleep and before I knew it he was out like a light, then I got up since I wanted to surprise him with his favorite ice cream: Rocky Road. The walk down from the oak tree to the ice cream stand wasn’t too far but I felt a presence surround me as I walked and I didn’t even realize that the demons HIM were talking about were all around me and looking at me, hiding behind the trees and the light posts. The man behind the stand had a creepy smile on his face, but I still asked for two ice creams and the next thing I knew, he jumped over the stand and tackled me to the ground. His grip was strong and I tried to break free but then his aura turned dark and I could see his true identity. He was a demon no lie from his red skin and jet black curly hair that kept his horns in place. His tail wagged in place and his claws kept me pinned to the ground. Then all of a sudden, I saw these other demons come lurking from their hiding places and they all looked at me. 

“Welcome to Townsville, Jodi Foster. We’ve been expecting you.”

“Who the hell are you?! What do you want?!”

“I’m Lezazu, your fantasy and this is my entourage. I’ve been watching you since you came here Jodi and I’m quite enamored. You’ve just so beautiful…I just have to make you mine. So what do you say?”

“Let go of me!” I demanded before I spit at him.

“You want to do this the hard way, huh? You have no choice!”

“Yes, I do have a choice! I’m HIM’s girlfriend!”

“HIM? You’re with HIM? Well, no wonder you wear his collar. You’re his little pet. Oh, how precious…listen, Jodi, I know you don’t realize how things work in our domain but unless you carry his mark on your neck, you’re still on the market for any of us.”

“I’m not his pet! I’m his equal! He said that!”

“You believe him? He’s just trying to tell you what you want to hear.”

“He’s better than you!”

“That might be true, but I want you and I’m going to have you!” I tried to fight him off but I couldn’t and he went down, un-latched my necklace, and licked my neck. I wanted to kick him but my legs started to feel numb and I couldn’t shake him. Then I feared the worse when I saw his teeth come out but then out of nowhere, this black cloud appeared and a being in a cloak appeared as the black cloud dissolved. And inside of the cloak, bright green eyes glew and I noticed that Lezazu and his entourage backed away from me. 

“Oh, is something wrong, Moxie?” Lezazu asked shaking. 

“Moxie?” I questioned. She began to walk closer to them and suddenly her cloak disappeared to reveal her long black hair and body. 

“Yes, something is wrong, Lezazu! Don’t you dare but another hand on her or so help me, I’ll drag you to the deepest pits of Hell!”

“Right, Moxie. It won’t happen again.”

“Good, now scram!” They all ran away with the upmost fear in their eyes and I guess she was watching them run away. And after I picked up my necklace, I felt a little flustered and wondered if she was the woman we met earlier. So I tapped her shoulder and she turned around and my theory was correct but I figured because the voice was the same. And she had two ice cream cones in her hands. 

“Here’s the ice cream you wanted.”

“Thank you, but my I ask who you are?”

“The name’s Moxie.”

“Wow, because you remind me of someone…”

“That must mean she’s special. I’m a shape shifting demon and whoever I protect from harm’s way, sees me almost like a special person in their lives.”

“Wow, that’s strange.”

“Yes, but you need not worry about her. She’s fine.”

“Wait, what?”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later…” Then the black cloud reappeared and took her away from my sight. I was still a little in awe of what just happened but I walked it off and headed back to the oak tree where HIM was still sleeping. I kissed his forehead to wake him up and then I told him about my encounter with Moxie and how she sounded just like the woman we met before and such. I don’t think he was fully listening though because he was so focused on licking his ice cream. Then after we finished our ice cream, we had to return back to work and once we walked back in, we saw a woman sitting by the counter talking to Jessica and Jenny and when I listened closely; I knew it was Moxie. She must have heard us too because she turned her chair around and waved at us. 

“Aren’t you the same woman from the park? Where’s your son?”

“Home,” she quickly answered. “Did you like the ice cream?”

“Yeah, it was good I guess. I’ll just be in the kitchen.” Once he walked away, she smiled at me and motioned me to come sit by her. So I did but I was still frightened by her. 

“Oh, don’t be scared, Jodi. I don’t bite.” 

“Jodi, Moxie was telling us about your encounter with Lezazu and his goons,” Jessica started. 

“Yeah, he attacked me.”

“But I swooped in and saved her. He was trying to mark her.”

“Wow, you have to watch Lezazu,” Jenny started. “He’s a rogue demon.”

“I guess I do. I didn’t really realize how much danger I was in without HIM by my side.”

“That’s why I’m here. I’m your guardian for now. But it’s finally nice to meet you. I’ve seen you from afar and I know how sweet you are.”

“Thanks, Moxie. But do you always take form of one admired by the person you’re guarding?”

“Yep, I always do. I really just took her voice and smile. I could go all out, but I’d rather not. I think this will help you grow a little more.”

“Well, thanks for concern.”

“No problem. I’ll always be here when you need me.”

“Thanks, Moxie,” I said before I hugged her. 

 

Night fell quickly and before I could even blink, the dinner shift was over and it was time to go home. Rayna and Jayna didn’t harass me or bother me the whole shift which was nice and Moxie stayed to help us clean and then disappeared in her black cloud. HIM closed down the diner at eight and then reached for my hand so we could go back to my apartment. I asked to take the long way home since the stars were out and about. We actually paused in the park to watch and he held me closer as I pointed at all of the star formations. Then after ten minutes of star gazing, we kept on walking to my apartment complex. After we walked into my place, I turned on the TV to see what was on while HIM went to my bedroom and started running our bath water. There was nothing on so I just turned off the TV and threw the remote to the side and lay down on the couch. 

Then I felt him picked me up and he put me on my bed. I jumped but then I saw he was in his bath robe and he was waiting for me to follow him in. So I stripped down and followed him in then cuddled closer to him. I felt him hold me tighter and kiss my cheek and neck but I still felt this weird tingling feeling on my neck. I didn’t bother to tell him about my attack from Lezazu though. I didn’t want him to know what happened. But then I started to feel the same sensation over my whole body and I shook a little which alarmed him. He asked me what was wrong, but I told him that I was fine and tried to stay still. But the same thing happened when we were cuddling in bed and I kept on insisting that I was fine but I still kept on shaking. Then at midnight, I began to feel sick again and I walked to the bathroom and then I just fell and blacked out. The next morning, I woke up to see HIM and Moxie staring at me even though she took Dr. Jensen’s full form this time. 

“Oh, she’s waking up now,” Moxie observed. 

“I was so worried…”

“She’ll be fine, HIM. That medicine must have started to kick in.”

"Medicine? What medicine?”

“Moxie told me that Lezazu attacked you. You have the sensation of his touch left on your skin and I guess his presence weakened you. I’m going to have to give him a special little visit. Anyway, Moxie injected you with some medicine that will help you regain strength.”

“And is there any reason why she went all out today?”

“I thought it might cheer you up.”

“Well, thanks for the concern.”

“Jodi, you have to rest though for the rest of the day. I’m going to spend the day with my girls but Moxie will stay with you. And tomorrow, I have a surprise for you.”

“What about the diner?”

“I closed it today. I don’t want the diner to be open without you.”

“Okay, well, have fun with your girls.”

“I will. I haven’t spent time with them in a while.”

I got kinda bored staying in bed after HIM left, but then Moxie handed me my bag and just told me to draw or something to occupy my time. But then that got old and I just started flipping through the TV channels. But then nothing was on, so I just took a nap…but that didn’t last long when Jessica and Jenny burst in with balloons and flowers. 

“Hey Jodi!,” Jessica greeted first. “Wait, what is she doing here?”

“It’s me, Moxie,” she said. “Gosh, it’s not time yet.”

“Really, Jessica? You didn’t think that was just Moxie?”

“My bad, Jenny! Anyway, how are you feeling?”

“I’m alright I guess. But I have to stay here until HIM gets back.”

“Oh,” Jessica started while Jenny put down the balloons and flowers. “Wow, you really like drawing those people you went to school with.” I noticed she saw the drawings on my lap and she started looking at all of them. “But you really are a good artist.”

“Thanks, and you act like senior year was that long ago…I just graduated last month.”

“Right, I knew that.”

“Is there anything in here?” Jenny asked messing with the knob on my nightstand. But before I could answer her, she pulled the drawer open which made the frame hit the side. 

“You’re going to break it!” I yelled before she picked it up. 

“Aww! This is you and Dr. Jensen at your graduation! Wow, what ugly colors for a graduation gown.”

“I like the green and black. Yeah, for the longest, she forgot I was graduating and signed me up for one of her other classes that I didn’t even sign up for.”

“Wow, but why do you keep it in here?”

“I don’t really know, Jenny. I guess I just don’t want anyone to break the frame it’s in.”

“Nothing’s wrong with that,” Jessica remarked. “You really admire her, huh?”

“Yeah, I do. Even though I spent most of my senior year worried sick about her that I even resorted back to prayer.”

“Man, you did have it bad.”

“Don’t say it like that, Jessica! Gosh, don’t you know anything about mortal social graces?!”

“It’s fine. I know how socially awkward I used to be…especially around her. But when I felt that prayer didn’t work, I started cutting up my left arm whenever something would happen to her or whenever she was upset. Eventually, the scars started adding up just from her and my whole left arm was covered.”

“Wow, I never asked why your arms were all cut up, but now I know,” Jenny said. 

“It’s fine. You can know now…oh and Moxie how is Leo?”

“Oh, he’s fine. He’s back home with my father.”

“Your father?”

“Yeah, my father lives with us. Leo just loves spending time with his paw-paw.”

“So how long are you going to stay in bed?”

“Until HIM gets back from spending time with Bindi and Noiri.”

“Oh yeah. He always tries his best to spend as much time as he can with the girls,” Jenny explained. “Right now, they live with Ana and her husband.”

“Why is that?”

“HIM wants them to have a female figure in their lives. But he makes sure that he’s around for them too.”

“Wow, that’s so sweet of him.”

“Yeah, he’s changed a lot since his twin girls died…”

“Wait, what?”

“He never told you that?” she suddenly asked. 

“No.”

“Wait to go, Jenny,” Jessica scoffed. “He’ll probably tell you if you just ask him.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. I just wondered when he’ll introduce me to his daughters.”

“You’ll like them when you meet them. They’re very sweet little girls,” Jessica assured. 

“Who are very sweet little girls?” We all jumped when we saw HIM standing in the doorway of my room with a butterfly tattooed on the side of his face and he was holding a bunch of balloons. Then he walked over by my side and kissed me. 

“The fair’s in town right now, if you want to go one day.”

“Okay,” I murmured before I reached up to kiss him again. “You can all leave now. I’m fine.”

“Wow, she’s kicking us out,” Jessica scoffed. 

“Alright, let’s leave the lovebirds alone,” Moxie instructed. Once they left, HIM jumped on top of me and stripped me bare before he picked me up and led me to my bathroom. Rose water filled the tub and it was still as relaxing as the first time. But even though I wasn’t shaking anymore, he still wanted to know if I was feeling alright. 

“So how do you feel?”

“Better,” I moaned. “The medicine worked fine.”

“Glad to hear it. I was worried sick…I’m going to have to deal with Lezazu then…”

“No, don’t. There’s no need to entertain his shenanigans.”

“But he hurt you…”

“It was my fault for straying from you. You warned me and I didn’t listen. It was my fault I was attacked.”

“It still doesn’t give him the right to hurt you.”

“I know, but I should have listened.”

“Jodi, don’t make excuses for his behavior. What he did was wrong even though you didn’t listen. I’ll spare him this time but I might not be so nice if he touches you again.”

“Okay,” I moaned.


	4. The Princess Bride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a trigger warning of attempted rape and includes HIM and Jodi's first time. Reader's discretion is advised.

I still couldn’t believe that Jodi blamed herself for what happened that day in the park. I never really understood why she would blame herself for anything that had nothing to do with her. But that’s the way she thinks, so I could never change her mind. It was the reason behind her cutting and it was the reason behind her anxiety attacks…she never caused Dr. Jensen or any of those girls any pain yet she blamed herself for what was happening around her. She blamed herself for Mr. Mason’s death and she blamed herself for Mrs. Benson’s illness, she took on everyone’s pain and for what? Nothing…she gained absolutely nothing out of it. She scarred herself with the scars of others and ended up being the most broken out of all of them. 

I guess that’s why I’m so protective of her. She just cares too much about other people’s feelings and then when things don’t look right, she starts to overthink, overanalyze, get all worked up…and I just don’t want to see her cut herself or hurt herself anymore. She’s been through enough pain and I wanted to be the one that helped her grow and forget about the past she left behind in the rotten Peach. I still go back and forth in her subconscious while she sleeps just to see what she’s thinking about and I always see the same scenarios play out over and over in the back of her mind. And then sometimes when a repressed memory comes back to surface, she starts to fidget so I have to hold her closer to me. And then I begin to realize that if I don’t keep her, who will?

Morning fell like the dew fall, quick and easy, and the sun was as bright as usual. But instead of working more shifts at the diner, I wanted to take her to the fair to get her mind off of everything. She stayed asleep after I finally woke up so I went to the bathroom and started running the shower head. I guess she heard it too because when I walked back into the room, she was just waking up and rubbing her eyes. She smiled at me and picked herself up to stretch a little and yawn and then she got up and followed me to the bathroom. After our shower, I started to make our breakfast and she followed me, then went to the den and put the TV on before returning to her seat at the table. 

“So can I work today?” she eagerly asked. 

“No, I’m not opening the diner today either.”

“Why not? I was looking forward to work.”

“Because I want to get your mind off of a few things…”

“HIM, did you psychoanalyze me again?!”

“I do every night…but that’s not what I’m getting at…I want to take you to the fair.”

“Oh, so soon? Okay, I guess I can go to the fair instead.”

“You really didn’t have a choice.”

“Oh, HIM,” she chirped. 

 

After breakfast, we hurried to leave so we could get to the fair before everyone else got there and we made pretty good timing. It was twelve by the time we got there but the lines weren’t even forming yet. But once we got in, I noticed Ana and Janie among the crowd so I dragged Jodi behind me so that she could meet them. 

“Hi, HIM!” Ana greeted. “Oh, and you have a little friend.”

“This is Jodi, my girlfriend. Jodi, this is Ana and her daughter, Janie.”

“Pleasure to meet both of you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Jodi,” Ana started. “HIM’s told me a lot about you. But he never told me you had such a cute Georgia accent.”

“Thank you, I never really noticed.”

“I think that’s so cute! You’re a Georgia Peach just like his mother.” She giggled a little but I just put my claw on my head and sighed. 

“Yes, I know, Ana. I didn’t think you would be here.”

“Oh, well after you took Bindi and Noiri to the fair…Janie Belle decided she wanted to go too so I just decided to take her.”

“Mami, don’t call me that in public!”

“Oh, Janie. There’s no reason to be ashamed of your name.”

“Wow, you look really young,” Janie suddenly said. 

“That’s because I am. I just graduated high school a month ago.”

“You’re 18?”

“Yep, sure am. I’ll be nineteen next April.”

“Janie, don't say that,” Ana whispered. "But we better leave you two alone. I’ll see you later, HIM and bye Jodi! It was really nice to finally meet you!”

“You too, Ana,” she greeted back before they walked away. The fairgrounds started to fill up after one thirty but we were still able to go to all of the attractions more than once. Then after that, Jodi told me that she always wanted to win a stuffed animal from the local fair back in Georgia but her father was too cheap to pay for it so I decided to pay for it and I won her a stuffed panda and monkey at the ring toss and balloon darts. After, we got out faces painted identically and then went to the concession stand and bought some food to eat. I found Ana and Janie again at one table, so I motioned Jodi to come over and we went to sit by them. 

“Hey again!” Ana quickly greeted. “Are you having fun so far?”

“Yeah, this is a really awesome fair and HIM was sweet enough to win me two of the cutest stuffed animals.”

“Aww! They are cute! Are they your favorite animals?”

“Yes. I love pandas, cute little monkeys, and also beluga whales.”

“She loves cute stuff,” I explained. 

“Oh, I understand. He told me you like Hello Kitty. Well, Janie here is a big fan too and she likes Monster High…”

“Oh, I love Monster High! Who’s your favorite ghoul?”

“Clawdeen,” Janie answered.

“I love her too and Frankie. Do you watch Steven Universe?”

“I love that show!” Ana suddenly yelled out. 

“Yeah, mami loves that show but I watch it too my favorite gem is…”

“Amethyst,” Jodi and Janie said. 

“Really? Cause I like Garnet. She’s a boss like I was back in the day.”

“Garnet’s cool too,” Jodi agreed. “I’m just not a big Pearl fan.”

“Who is? She’s so annoying,” Janie moaned. 

“I know right?” Jodi agreed. 

“So HIM, how’s the diner been? I always want to go but John refuses every time.”

“You’ll probably just have to come alone. John’s been holding that day against me for years now. I mean the girls were five and now they’re grown with kids of their own.”

“I know. John never really does forget about the past. How have the girls adapted to Jodi working there?”

“Rayna and Jayna haven’t been bothering her anymore and Jessica and Jenny actually like having her around.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. Do you like it here, Jodi?”

“I love it here. The people are so nice and friendly and just the atmosphere is so warm and inviting. I’m glad I came here.”

“Well, we’re happy to have you here oh and I almost forgot…I host a little tea party where my three stepdaughters and one of their friends all come together for just some girl talk and stuff and since you’re new here, I would be honored to invite you to come over. I’m sure they’ll love to meet you.”

“Thank you, I would love to come.”

“Great. It’s the first Friday of July.”

“First Friday of July…oh, that’s the Fourth of July.”

“I know. We’re going to have it a little earlier and then have a barbeque in the park so we can watch the fireworks.”

“Works for me.”

“Oh, thanks for bringing that up, Ana. I almost forgot about my event. Tomorrow, one of the high elders in the Circle is having a little soiree and I was wondering if you would like to accompany me?”

“Will your stepmother and father be there?”

“No, but my older brothers will be filling in for them.”

“Oh, then I guess I can come. But I won’t stray from you.”

“I know you won’t.”

 

We left the fair at about three and returned back to her apartment at three thirty. I was anxious to rummage through her wardrobe to see what she could wear at the soiree But there were no dresses in sight except for her old black laced prom dress…the rest of her clothes were sweaters, long sleeve shirts, and skinny jeans just like Dr. Jensen. But the dress was out of season, so I didn’t want her wearing that. I knew that she was also very curvy so a tight fitting dress wouldn’t do…but she had beautiful legs so why not show them off? But she was just getting used to showing off her skin again so when I made a rack of dresses appear in front of her, she made a face and folded her arms. 

“Why are you going all Bella’s Closet on me anyway?”

“Bella’s Closet?” I asked like I didn’t know what she was talking about. 

“Don’t act like you don’t psychoanalyze me all of the time! You know that’s where I used to volunteer on the weekends.”

“Oh, right. You despised the vice president right?”

“Which one? I hated all three of them.”

“The junior, Alana, just this year.”

“Oh, yeah. She only got that position because she was friends with Mrs. Gunderson’s daughter, Selena.”

“I know, but life isn’t fair,” I teased. “It’s alright though. I know you were way more qualified.”

“I did everything for that club and I didn’t even get a thank you. Only Mrs. Bender acknowledged me. And Mrs. Gunderson really pissed me off Homecoming night.”

“Was that the week after Dr. Jensen’s father died?”

“Yeah, it was. That memory still haunts me…”

“Oh, yes. You were jumping up and down like a jackrabbit to get her attention and she acknowledged you with a wave but you knew she was still upset by the look on her face. And then Mrs. Gunderson walked over and started talking to her and then the week after, Dr. Jensen was passing around a bucket in your AP Psych class for the monkeys you were supposed to give to the cancer patients at the prom…”

“That they cancelled. I’m still pissed about that…but at least the monkeys got to the cancer patients anyway.”

“And that’s all that matters in the end…”

“I know. I guess we’re more alike than I thought…I always felt like Dr. Jensen was way too nice in some situations.”

“I can agree with that. She really did seem to enjoy dealing with crazy people.”

“Like Laurie and Melissa?”

“Yeah, like those two.” 

“I just hope she’s okay now…now that they’re gone.”

“If you want to know so badly, I can show you.”

“That’s fine. I can wait until it’s time.”

“Alright. Well, I handpicked all of these dresses for you to try on for the soiree.”

“Why are all these dresses purple?”

“Purple looks pretty on you. I saw you in that purple dress your aunt bought you your junior year, and you looked adorable.”

“That was a pretty dress. But I gave it away.”

“That’s too bad too. But anyway, start trying some on so I can see how you look in them.”

“Okay,” she moaned. There were twenty short purple dresses on the rack and every time she came out with one on, she insisted that she looked like Lindsay, the horribly ugly Jewish girl she knew, who she really didn’t want to look like and then the twelfth dress she put on, she actually liked. It was light purple satin and had a black strap around the waistline and the top was sleeveless She looked absolutely stunning in it and when I saw her smile, I knew this was her dress. So I walked by her as she was looking in her mirror and I pulled her hair to the side to show her a possible hairstyle she could wear and I waved my claw over her face to show her how I could do her makeup. 

“Wow, I look…”

“Beautiful?”

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

“Jodi, you’re beautiful regardless. It’s because of your big heart.” She didn’t answer me back and just walked away from me. I didn’t follow her, just pondered what she was thinking then I heard her say, 

“HIM, help! I need your help!” I got scared until I walked in and saw her lounging on her bed in nothing but her underwear. She gave me such a seductive smile which appalled me because after all, I was the seductive one. 

“Come and cuddle with me.” I smirked and then disappeared from her sight and reappeared by her side before I gripped her waist in my arms and started to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. She giggled and sighed, and then I moved down and started to kiss and lick her neck. 

“HIM,” she moaned. “Thank you.”

“Thanks for what?”

“Making me feel like better woman. I feel so comfortable and loved when I’m around you. I just feel different…but a good different…”  
“I’m glad. That’s how I want you to feel. I just want to see you happy and content.”

“That’s really sweet.” She paused. “But do you have a neck fetish or something?”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems like you’re always trying to kiss my neck.”

“Oh, well it is a demon thing…and that is how we mark our lovers,” I insisted before I pounced and jumped on top of her. But she didn’t look very amused, so I tried to make her smile by kissing her but she slowly pushed me away and sat back up right. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked in a concerned tone. 

“I don’t want to go any further,” she moaned. 

“What do you mean?”

“HIM, I’m afraid to give myself away…I’m afraid to be intimate to a guy…I just don’t want to end up broken any more than I already am.”

“Oh, so you think I’m after sex? No, I’m not after that. I’m not trying to rush you into something you don’t want to do. A girl like you is worth waiting for and I know that once you are ready, it will be magical for both of us.”

“Really? You’re willing to wait for me?”

“I’m not like mortal guys, Jodi. I promise I’m not. I’m not going to sleep with you or mark you until you’re ready for that type of commitment. I’m glad you’re that way too. Too many girls your age get into relationships too soon and end up hurting themselves or giving themselves away to sex-craved fiends.”

“Thank you for understanding. I just hope I’m not sending you the wrong message when we bathe or shower or cuddle.”

“No, you’re not. I think it’s romantic…much more romantic than just having sex. There is more to love than that…I want a true feeling not just intimacy.”

“So do I,” she agreed. “I think you’re the only male in existence that understands that.”

“I’m not the only one…but I am one of the few.”

“Okay, I’m comfortable again to cuddle with you…if you want…”

“I think we both know the answer is yes,” I assured before I scooped her up in my arms and showered her with kisses. 

 

Today was the soiree (try saying that five times fast) and I was very excited to finally show Jodi to all of my loyal subjects. They all knew I was seeing her now, but they were so anxious to meet her since I told them she kinda resembled my mother. The right hand man to my father, Tiberius, was hosting the soiree in his grand gothic mansion and he had invited my father and Adanna, but they decided they didn’t want to come so my brothers and I were going for them. But I just hoped that they wouldn’t offend Jodi in any way and that Lezazu and his entourage wouldn’t crash it or I would have no choice but to kill him. 

I must have been very anxious since I got up before her and turned on the shower head to get cleaned up. But then as I walked out of the shower to wake her up, she stood by the door frame in her bra and panties then walked closer to me and closed the door behind her. After our shower, I started making breakfast again but then she came over by me and told me that she wanted to help, so I showed her how to flip a pancake in a pan and her first time, the pancake hit the ceiling which made her laugh but then she got the hang of it. And she was impressed that she helped out, so I didn’t tell her anything to discourage her. But before she started eating, she handed me the necklace I gave her and asked me to hook it on her neck for her. I could tell she loved her gift because she never went anywhere without it and she always wanted me to put it on her. 

The soiree wasn’t until four (at least in this realm’s time) so we just chilled at her place watching TV and cuddling until the clock struck three. I didn’t panic though, because I knew Kierra would always panic and Jodi was never a real big fan of that. Instead, I kept my cool and helped Jodi get ready before me. She was in a hurry to get into that dress, so I hurried to help her zip it up and then I showed her some stilettos she could wear with it. She looked at me with a confused look and then I remembered that she couldn’t wear heels because of her trick knees. So I resorted to my favorite shoes- black boots with a tiny heel on the end. She liked that and hurried to slip them on. Then I rushed her into the bathroom and started to do her hair and makeup and she began to giggle when she saw how she looked in the mirror. My work was done with her, so she left the bathroom and sat on her bed to wait for me to get ready. I settled on my long red dress with the slit on the right side and it had a pink fluffy collar that touched my shoulders and retouched my makeup before I met her in her room. 

She laughed when she saw me and I just smiled because I knew she didn’t mean it in a mean way. Then she got up and hugged me before I took her hand and waved my other claw so that her apartment disappeared from our view and the huge black gothic mansion stood in front of us. A breeze of the coldest wind blew past us so Jodi began to shiver before I covered her in a black mink coat. I told her that my domain had weird climate control for mortals…it was either too cold or extremely hot but never in between. The mansion was lit up by candles that lay on each step and the door was wide open, guarded by Tiberius’ men. Demons from all over where coming in and some had their pets with them. Jodi looked like she was in awe of what she saw before her but I pulled her closer to me and walked her to the front. Tiberius’ men looked at me and then smiled as they saw Jodi walking with me and as soon as we walked from them, I heard them whistle which meant they liked how she looked. Once we walked in, I noticed how luminescent the grand ballroom was and how everyone were socializing and dancing so I was going to bring her down so she could meet everyone but then an old friend tapped me and I turned around to see him standing there with a Asian woman. 

“HIM, long time no see,” he told me. “Is this your new pet?”

“Fergal, it’s nice to see you again too. No, this is Jodi, she’s my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend? Well, okay. Hello, Jodi.” 

“Nice to meet you, Fergal,” she chirped with a smile. 

“This is my new pet, Yebin. She’s from China and she’s much better than my last pet.”

“Ni hao,” she greeted. 

“Does she only speak Chinese?” Jodi suddenly asked. 

“Yeah, but she doesn’t talk back…and whenever I want pleasure, she just give it to me. My last would always talk back.”

“How would you know? She’s speaking in another language.”

“Um, Jodi…you can go socialize if you would like.”

“But HIM, you told me to stay close to you.”

“You’re fine. You can go.”

“Okay,” she sighed. 

“She’s more outspoken than your mother, HIM,” Fergal remarked after she walked away. “I guess she just looks like her.”

“I like her though. She’s different…but I like that.”

“What’s this girlfriend business? I think being in the mortal world has softened you.”

“She’s my girlfriend and equal. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Oh, I get it. Tell her what she wants to hear so you can have your way with her.”

“No, that’s not what this is about. There’s more to love than just sex and I’m willing to wait for her until that time comes.”

“You really are soft. Just because she had a few little scars doesn’t mean you should be so soft when it comes to her. She just a stupid teenager…they’re many more like her.” That’s when I lost my shit and I square punched him in the face. Yebin just jumped and walked away from me with a scared look on her face and I looked down to see Fergal holding his face. 

“Consider this friendship over and Jodi is not just a stupid teenager. She’s a wonderful girl with a troubled past just like my mother!” He didn’t answer me back so I just walked away and tried to find Jodi and then I saw she was in this crowd of people and they were asking her all of these questions about Georgia and Dr. Jensen so I finally stepped in and told them to back off. Come to find out, my stupid older brothers entertained the crowd and I could tell that Jodi was overwhelmed so I pulled her to the side, sat her down, and gave her some water to drink. 

“Thank you, HIM. Gosh, these demons are just like the kids at my school. I had no idea they made such a big deal about Dr. Jensen here. It seemed like we could never have a conversation without putting her into it some type of way.”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“And they kept on saying that I looked like Shanti. I don’t even know who that is.”

“That was my mother.”

“Oh, that was her name? Do I really look like her?”

“Yeah, you do…right down to your freckles.”

“Is that why you were so attracted to me?”

“I guess…”

“Aww, that’s sweet. I remind you of your mother from what you heard about her. I’m sure you’ll see her again…and if you would like, I could help you find her.”

“Thank you, Jodi. I appreciate that. And I stood up for you back there.”

“Back where? What...Fergal?”

“Yeah, I punched him in the face because he was dishonoring you.”

“Oh, HIM. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. No one ever respected you and I want to be the first to do so,” I assured before I kissed her. 

“Your brothers are nothing like you,” she giggled. 

“I know. They’re brutes and I’m a romantic.”

“Pretty much. They seemed so enamored by me though.”

“Because you look like my mother. Everyone thought my mother was beautiful…almost exotic because the only mortals they really knew were European.”

“Is that why they were comparing me to Bubbles?”

“Yeah, I took her to Tiberius’ house once too. It didn’t end well though.”

“What happened?” But before I could answer, Tiberius came by us and asked me to come over so he could talk to me. But before I left her, I introduced her to him and told her that I would be back. Little did I know, Lezazu and his entourage came in and he was able to find Jodi. I was still talking to Tiberius when he went over by Jodi and went behind her and took her from where she was. About an hour later, I was still talking to Tiberius when Moxie came by me in her true form and tapped my shoulder. 

“HIM, Jodi’s in trouble.”

“What? What happened this time?”

“Lezazu got her again…”

“This is Bubbles all over again! Excuse me, Tiberius, but I have to deal with a rogue demon.” Moxie followed me to the back of the mansion and we found a guest room but the door was locked so I blasted the door down and saw Lezazu about to mark her so I blasted him off of her and freed her from her entrapment. Lezazu quickly got up and tackled me to the ground while Jodi just stayed sitting on the bed. It was a struggle but I finally weakened him enough to where he couldn’t get back up and I was about to finish him until Jodi pulled my arm and told me she wasn’t feeling good. So I told him that if he ever touched Jodi again, I would really end him and then I told Moxie thank you and goodbye before I took Jodi home. 

She complained about the same sensation and she asked me for some medicine, but I knew that the second time it happened meant that the medicine wouldn’t even work. So I told her to go soak in the tub alone while I thought over what I had to do. She had just told me that she was afraid of giving herself and I knew that the only way to keep her from Lezazu was to mark her as my own. But how could I tell her? I didn’t want to force her into something she didn’t want to do and I didn’t want to scare her away, but if she was to be with me I had to protect her from other demons that would hurt her. Finally after a thirty minute soak, she came out just wearing her towel around her and she saw that I was flustered so she came over by me and strangely, she began to kiss me. But I was confused especially after she pushed me down and jumped on top of me to continue kissing me. Then I pulled her away which confused her. 

“Jodi, what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to get you in the mood.”

“Wait, what?”

“I want this to be our first time.”

“No, just yesterday you told me you were afraid to give yourself away. Why this sudden change in mind?”

“You can mark me. You’re not going to hurt me, I trust you.”

“Mark you? This is about Lezazu, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and I don’t want him to ever attack me again…that’s the only way he won’t hurt me anymore.”

“Jodi, are you sure about this?”

“HIM, you and I both know that’s the only way we can stay together without some other demon trying to take me from you. It’s okay, I know you won’t hurt me. And I don’t ever want a demon to touch me other than you.”

“Okay, I promise I’ll do my best to not hurt you.” She just smiled and threw off her towel before she lay back on her side of the bed. Her skin was even more inviting now, which made me throw my cautiousness to the side and just act upon my instincts. She must have thought we had sex before I marked her, but I assured her that I had to mark her before we did that. She was confused, but she still unlatched her necklace and pulled her hair to the side. I took a heavy breath before I went down by her neck and it took as much time as I could to soothe her with kisses and licks before I burrowed my teeth in her skin. But once I did, I felt her heart beat faster underneath me and she was gripping at the sheets. She started to breathe heavily as the blood dripped from her ripped vein in her neck but it had a very sweet taste to it almost like candy. Then I noticed the blood stained her crème colored sheets, but I was cautious enough to take most of the drops that fell. After five minutes, I felt that the scar it would leave was deep enough so I took my teeth out of her neck and licked the remainder of the blood that dripped from her open wound. She was still breathing heavy once I was done, but she knew that it was far from over. She grabbed me and pulled me closer to her to embrace in a long kiss before I went inside of her and gently took her. She sighed and moaned between the kisses we shared so I knew she enjoyed it even though I didn’t really look at her during it all. Then it was done and I kissed her one last time before I waved my claw in front of her face to make her fall asleep. Tucked in and I just looked at her and it reminded me of the first time with Bubbles…but this time, it actually felt much more special. And she didn’t shake once that night, so I knew that for once, she was truly content. 

 

The next morning, I woke up to a beaming sun on my face and birds singing at her window. It was a beautiful morning indeed and it was even better now that I knew she was mine for the rest of eternity. She still slept soundly on her side of the bed and even though she didn’t shake once, I still pulled the cover over her more and kissed her forehead. But I also lean over by her neck and felt her pulse and her heart was beating normally again, so I knew that I had nothing to worry about. But I knew she probably felt dirty now that it was done, so instead of a shower this morning, I started running the warm water in her tub and then peeked in by her room and saw that she was still sound asleep. Then I turned the faucet off and looked over again to see her finally opening her eyes and starting to get up. 

And as the sun hit her, I noticed she had a particular glow that radiated off of her skin as she stretched and then she looked over at me and smiled before she tried to get up but then I remembered that she couldn’t walk by herself, so I dove to catch her before she fell. She looked confused until I told her that she was paralyzed for 24 hours and I would have to help her to the tub. So she just let me pick her up and take her there but as I walked away from her, she asked me to come in with her but I told her that she had to soak by herself for a while and then I would come back for her. Actually, she really didn’t have to soak alone, I just wanted to have breakfast ready by the time I got her and put her back in bed. Twenty minutes later, I went back into her bathroom to find her asleep, her head perched on the back side of the tub so I woke her and helped her get cleaned off and dried before I got her back in bed. Then I left and came back with breakfast for her and went by her side to keep her company…but she didn’t eat right away…no, she had more questions…

“HIM, what’s going on? Why can’t I walk?”

“You’re paralyzed for 24 hours…you see, having relations with a demon for the first time drains out the energy in mortals. You are fragile now, but once those 24 hours are up, you’re immortal and ageless.”

“Immortal? Ageless?”

“Yes, you’re my wife now. I marked you…that is a proposal for demons anyway. You’ll never age and you’ll never die. You’re mine for the rest of eternity.”

"So I’ll be 18 for the rest of my life?”

“For all of eternity, yes. Is that not what you wanted? No demon can ever touch you lest he shall be killed.”

“Yes, this is everything I could have ever dreamed off. I’ll never age and I’ll never die. This is amazing!”

“I’m glad you’re happy.”

“So is this why we had sex after…because you wanted us to be married before?”

“It doesn’t have to be in that order…but I know you were raised to think that way…so I wanted to have it that way.”

“You’re so considerate. Thank you…now I don’t feel dirty. And now I’m married.”

“Well, we can have a traditional wedding if you would like. But I would like for you to meet my parents tomorrow.”

“Meet your stepmother and father? Um, okay.”

“Oh, don’t be scared, my sweet Jodi.”

“Is that your new pet name for me?”

“Oh, I guess it can be. You know, your blood taste sweet like candy…oh, the irony! Because you are sweet like candy.”

“Well, I do like many sweet things. And thank you for being gentle with me. I was afraid but that actually felt great.”

“Oh, so you liked it?”

“Yeah, I did. I feel more connected to you now…and I’m happy it’s that way.”

“Oh, Jodi, you were definitely worth the wait.”

“You too. Wow, she was right…no matter how creeped out I was at that second…”

“Who? Oh, were you thinking about Dr. Jensen again?”

“When did I stop?”

“Touché. But you weren’t shaking last night.”

“It was good memories; that was why. I guess you brought me to a happy place.”

“I think that was probably more of Moxie’s doing than mine.”

“I always wondered where she came from. She told me she was sent here to look after me, but it’s still strange to me.”

“I’m not aware of her whereabouts or what she is about…she just came out of nowhere but there’s something more to that story than what’s being told.”

“So you never saw her before?”

“Never, but apparently Lezazu and his crew are aware.” 

“Hmm…well, I’ll figure this out eventually. It’s apparent that Moxie, your mother, Dr. Jensen, and I are all connected. And speaking of mystery, what happened to Bubbles that night?”

“Oh, I was about to tell you before Tiberius cut me off…you see, Bubbles was actually raped in that same room…but not by Lezazu…I actually did away with the two fiends that hurt her. But she had the same symptoms as you and so I had to do the same to make her feel better.”

“Oh, wow. I had no idea…and I heard about your twins…”

“Blanche and Stella? Yeah, she ended up pregnant but we lost them…she was only sixteen at the time…and my father and her father refused to support our relationship so my father got rid of her mark and we were forced to break it off.”

“So your father liked Elysia?”

“No, he didn’t like her either but I refused to let him make her stray. I guess her death was my punishment for not listening to him.”

“Oh, now I’m afraid of what he’ll think of me…”

“I think he’ll like you…you’ll probably remind him of my mother.”

“I forgot about that. I guess that is true. But wait, you named the twins after the sisters from a Streetcar Named Desire?”

“Yeah, that was Bubbles’ favorite play they read at her school.”

“Oh, I read that play in Ms. Dixon’s horrible AP Literature class.”

“Yes, where the drama festered and grew unchecked.”

“I almost forgot you psychoanalyze me every day.”

“Only because I love you,” I whispered to her before I kissed her cheek.

“And because you care. And I love you too.”

“Speaking of which, here I think that you lost this in Room 626 back your sophomore year.” Then I handed her a pen that resembled lipstick and on the side read “One for the Money” in gold. She looked surprised when she saw it and she began to giggle and took it from me. “I thought you should have a special pen for your new journal.” Then I pulled out her old journal that said, “Live Your Life Like There Is No Tomorrow” and handed it to her.

“HIM, how in the world did you get this stuff?”

“I saw how distraught you were when you lost that pen…I mean it was right after that prom hosted by Bella’s Closet and that’s when Dr. Jensen was your number one fan…at least in that class. I figure your better memories of her are from back then. And I just found this old journal. You never really wrote in it so you can start now…since your life is anew and you’re technically a married woman now too.”

“I will. Thank you, HIM. So I guess you know all about my high school years now.”

“Yep, every day and every moment. It’s quite entertaining.”

“I know it was. Seems like every year I became more and more socially awkward and then when the grand finale came in like a wrecking ball, I had to be strong to take on all the world threw at me at that moment.”

“The world has a way to knock you down off your high horse.”

“I know…it also likes to mess with me too.”

“Yeah, you had pretty awkward mornings that year.”

“I know. But those days are over.”

“And I promise that your new life will be much better.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Isn’t that what she told you when you promised you would take AP Psych?”

“Yeah, that memory just popped in my head. I mean I was so enamored by what they were doing and I always keep my promises.”

“I’m aware.” After she was finished with breakfast, I made her plate and tray disappear and then she lay back to fall asleep but then I noticed she looked uncomfortable, so I knew it had to do with her scar so I soothed her until I noticed she was asleep. Then I got a little closer to her and began to close my own eyes until I felt someone tap me on my shoulder and then I turned around to see green eyes glowing from a black shadow and once the light hit the being in front of me, I noticed it was Moxie. 

“Moxie? What are you doing here?”

“She’s on to me, HIM. She’s on to me…”

“Who? What?”

“Jodi, she’s beginning to realize who I am.”

“Well, I’m not. Who are you?” She didn’t answer me, instead she moved her hand to where a screen appeared in front of me and I saw that it was a clip from Jodi’s AP Psych class but I didn’t really see Jodi, I just saw Dr. Jensen and she looked like she was crying but then I noticed she said something about a sister she lost named Michelle…then the light bulb turned on in my head.

“You’re her sister?!”

“Shhh…you’re going to wake her up.”

“Why can’t she know?”

“It’s not the time for her to know. Jori sent me here to look out for her.”

“Jori? Her older sister?”

“Yeah. She can’t really see Jori yet either. Many of the things that happened to her were because of me.”

“So you’re a demon?”

“No, an angel. I died back in ‘53 and Gabriel made me an honorary angel. I had to make myself a demon so Jodi wouldn’t suspect anything…but she’s really clever.”

“So when can she see you and know who you are?”

“I’m not sure. Only Gabriel knows.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Look, I have to protect Jodi…she’s the only one that truly cares about my sister other than my other sister.”

“I understand. And I won’t tell her who you are either.”

“Good. Thank you. And please keep her too. She needs to grow stronger before she can face my sister again. I can’t help her all of the time.”

“That was you whenever she was scared?”

“Yeah, it was. I intervened a lot through her.”

“Why is that?” But she didn’t answer and another black cloud took her away from my sight. But now it all made sense. She was her sister that’s why she was disguising herself like her. I looked over at Jodi and noticed that she was smiling as she was sleeping, so I figured she was having a good dream and I closed my eyes again knowing that everything was coming together finally for me and her. 

 

24 hours was up finally and instead of waking up first, Jodi was up and awake just sitting on her side of the bed waiting for me to get up. She looked happy this morning, so I knew that she must have had a good night sleep and a nice dream to go along with it. But then I blinked and saw Moxie’s shadow come from the living room and she just waved and disappeared. Jodi asked me what I was looking at, but I told her it was nothing and we went on with our morning routine of a shower and an IHOP style breakfast afterwards. But since I saw Moxie, I had to ask Jodi what made her so happy.

“So did you have a good night’s sleep?”

“Yeah, I did. I haven’t slept like that since before the Voodoo Days.”

“Voodoo Days?”

“Yeah, you know like all the misfortune that came from senior year.” 

“You got that from somewhere. I’ll find that in your subconscious tonight.”

“Okay, try me. I have many repressed memories in there.”

“So confident, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess so. So when are we meeting your stepmother and father?”

“This afternoon. I have the perfect outfit for you to wear.”

“Okay, I guess we’ll see what you’ll pick.”

 

I was supposed to meet my parents at two o’clock, this realm’s time. So we relaxed for a while and then at one, I told her I was going to get myself together before I showed her what she should wear. But I kept my usual dress and boots on, just applied some more makeup. Then when I went back in the room, I noticed that she was knocked out on the sofa so I gently shook her to wake her up and then led her back to her bedroom. She looked like she was anxious to see what I would put on her, so then I waved my claw in front of her and she looked down to see the white, blue, and brown dress she wore for her seventeenth birthday and her Confirmation on her. And at that moment, I noticed a bigger smile on her face. 

“This is like one of my favorite dresses.”

“I know. I recall you like to twirl in it.”

“Yes, that’s the best part about this dress.”

“Oh, and I have a great idea for your hair.” Then I waved my claw again and I handed her a mirror so that she could see that her hair was naturally curly now.

“Why did you do that?”

“I just wanted to see you in a different way.”

“Well, I kinda do like the way I look. And it is different.”

“I want you to go natural too. I’m not going to make you wear makeup this time.”

“Okay.”

 

After I got her fully ready, I waved my claw so that my parents’ domain would appear right in front of us. It was a grand palace that looked as though it came from Europe and I immediately noticed my father’s soldiers guarding the doors. But when they saw me coming with Jodi, they bowed and let us in. Adanna was standing in the middle of the grand hallway where the grand staircase faced forward to us and she was talking to one of my father’s men. Their conversation quickly ended and he departed from her before I went over by her to get her attention. 

“Adanna! Adanna!”

“Oh, HIM!” she cheered once she noticed me and then she hugged me. “It’s so nice to see you again, my dashing favorite stepson…oh, I see you have a friend…”

“Adanna, this is Jodi…you know the girl I told you about.”

“Oh, I know. I’m just messing with you. Come over, child, so I can get a better look at you.” I noticed that she was hesitating to come over but she did and stood by me. 

“Jodi…well, that’s a pretty name.”

“Thank you, your highness. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Adanna will suffice. You don’t have to suck up to me…you just need to impress my husband but I’m sure it won’t be hard…you look like Shanti anyway.”

“Thank you…I think.”

“Well, if you would follow me, I think he would like to see you now.” So she walked ahead of us and led us up the grand staircase to the main room that stood in front of the stairs. The huge doors suddenly opened and exposed my father’s huge study that was decorated with pictures of my mother, me, my brothers and sister, and of course Adanna. But his prized picture was the portrait of him with my mother and me as a baby before she left without a trace that he hung behind his desk. His chair was flipped the other way but then he got up and walked over to us. He quickly picked up Adanna and began to kiss her over and over again before she explained why we were there. I looked over at Jodi and I noticed that she looked scared by what she saw in front of her- his crimson red skin, giant black bat wings, black horns, four solid black eyes, long black hair, and muscular build…and apparently, he noticed her fear. 

“Dear Jodi, I hope I haven’t frightened you.”

“No, your majesty,” she said before she curtsied but he helped her back up and cupped her face in his claws. 

“Beautiful…absolutely beautiful. You don’t need to be afraid…you really are just like my ex-wife.”

“Thank you…I think.”

“Well, Adanna…HIM, I would like to talk to Jodi alone.”

“Yes, father. I trust that you’ll like her a lot.”

“I’ll be the judge of that, HIM,” he assured before he closed the door behind them. Adanna knew I was still a little worried about what he would think, so she led me away from the study and brought me to another open part of the palace where it looked out to our empire and sat me down by the edge of the window. 

“Are you taking kindly to her because she looks like your mother?” she quickly asked.

“No, I love Jodi…and it just so happens that she looks like her.”

“It seems like they share more than just looks. You did say she knows Dr. Jensen right?”

“Yeah, she did. I mean she cut up her left arm for her.”

“Okay, so it’s a different type of relationship but the basis is the same.”

“Sure, I guess we can go with that.”

“You have it real bad, HIM. But I understand. It’s hard to go without your mother.”

“She had good reason to leave…”

“I don’t think she did…but whatever, if she wouldn’t have, I would have never met your father.” Twenty minutes later, my father found us and had Jodi walking by his side to meet us again. I ran over to hug Jodi but she slowly followed and when I looked at her, she looked scared like she had just seen a ghost. But before I could ask what was wrong, my father began to speak again. 

“HIM, I accept your proposal. I give you both my blessing.”

“No, father, I won’t let you…wait, you accept our proposal?”

“Yes, son. I think she’s perfect for you. Keep her.”

“I will, father. Thank you.”

 

I was still surprised at how Jodi reacted after she knew that my father gave us his blessing. She just looked like she was in shock and I didn’t really understand why. But she didn’t really pay me any mind, she just threw her bag on her bed and rushed to the bathroom and started running her bath water. I tried to follow her but she slammed the door in my face and began to cry. But I didn’t pester; I just sat on her bed waiting for her to come back out. Then I looked down at where her bag lay, and I noticed there was a picture sticking out of her bag. I pulled it out and saw it was a picture of my mother with Dr. Jensen in a small frame. The first thing I thought was, it must have come from my father’s study but why would she take it? Finally, she came back out wearing her towel and just like the night I marked her, she came by me and started kissing me which alarmed me and I pushed her away. 

“HIM, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong with you? You slam the door in my face and now you want sex?”

“I didn’t mean to. I was just a little scared is all.”

“Scared? Scared of what?”

“I still feel his touch on my skin…I just want to get rid of it…”

“His touch? Who’s touch…who touched you?!”

“Your father. I was afraid to refuse him though because I thought he wouldn’t give us his blessing and cast me away.”

“What?!”

“I’m sorry, HIM. It just happened so suddenly…it started out as a friendly kiss and next thing I knew…it just escalated.”

“He just couldn’t help himself, huh? You look too much like my mother, maybe I should keep you away from him.”

“No, HIM. Don’t let me ruin the wonderful relationship you have with your father.”

“How can I trust him if he forced my wife to have sex with him?”

“It’s my fault. I egged him on.”

“With your outfit? That doesn’t justify anything.”

“But HIM…” 

“But nothing, you can’t justify Lezazu and you sure’s hell can’t justify my father!”

“HIM, you’re hurting me…” I didn’t know what she meant until I realized that my claws were grasping at her arms and I was shaking her to get my point across. So I let her go but she began to cry and leaned against me. 

“Take my pain away, HIM,” she moaned. 

“I will do just that, my princess.”

 

Morning settled in again and the sun peeked out from the curtains once again. But then I noticed something really strange, the picture that I found in her purse was now on her nightstand by the other picture she had in her nightstand drawer. I scratched my head and went to her bathroom to splash some water on my face when I saw Moxie’s shadow behind me. I looked over again and noticed that she was gone again and then I went back in the room to see that she was sitting right by Jodi disguised as her sister again. She just stroked her hair as she slept and didn’t even look my way until I whispered her name. She gave me this glare then went back to what she was doing until I went over by her and poked her on her shoulder. She lashed out at me like she was going to bite me then started swearing in Italian until I asked what she was doing. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Doing my work…which you’re interrupting.”

“You know, you don’t have to play your sister’s advocate.”

“For Jodi, yeah I do. It’s the only way to help her cope and grow.”

“Why are these pictures on her nightstand?”

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“Just answer this one.”

“There’s no reason. I just put them there.”

“Strange. Well, how long have you been here?”

“All night. She’s finally sleeping soundly.”

“I did get rid of his filth on her skin.”

“But she was still having nightmares…”

“What?” But before she answered me, Jodi began to wake up and she sat up quickly once she saw Moxie and hugged her. Then she looked at me and smiled. 

“Good morning, HIM!”

“Good morning, how do you feel?”

“How do I feel? I feel great and you were amazing last night! Second times the charm, I guess.”

“No, I meant do you feel better since before that happened.”

“Before what happened?”

“You know…”

“No, I don’t. HIM, are you messing with me because I’m easily rattled?”

“No, I just…”

“Jodi, why don’t you go freshen up and HIM will have your breakfast ready once you get out.”

“Okay.” 

“HIM, she doesn’t remember anything that happened last night.”

“What, why?”

“I got rid of those memories…what part of she was having nightmares do you not understand?”

“Right…well, thank you. It’s better that she doesn’t remember that.”

“It’s a start. She just remembers way too much. You know when she sleeps all she thinks about is the life she left behind…and my sister.”

“I’m aware, Moxie. My father just couldn’t resist…she looks too much like my mother.”

“I guess that’s why he did what he did. But there is no excuse for his actions. Honestly, Jodi acts just like your mother too.”

“And she justifies the acts that people do against her. I just don’t understand why she does that.”

“I guess it is because of the way she thinks. I mean she does take responsibility for any misfortune that has nothing to do with her.”

“Well, I want to get her out of that way of thinking. It just isn’t healthy for her.”

“You and I both but she can only change for herself.”

“I know that…unfortunately…” Suddenly, Jodi walked back into the room with just her towel around her and when I looked over by my side, I saw that Moxie disappeared again so I asked for Jodi to come over by where I was. She sat by me almost immediately and then I noticed that her right hand was closed, so I asked her what she was holding. 

“What you got there?”

“Oh, I found this beautiful necklace in the medicine cabinet.” She opened her hand and exposed a peridot amulet that was on a silver chain and I immediately noticed that it was my mother’s old amulet.

“This was my mother’s.”

“It was. Did she ever wear it?”

“No, look at this picture.” She looked shocked when she saw both pictures sitting on her nightstand but then I pulled the one with my mother on it and I pointed out that she was wearing it. 

“She was wearing it. Wow, I wonder how it ended up here.”

“My mother did live here for a while. I wonder if she lived in this apartment all those years ago.”

“I guess she must have. But I have another question, is this picture the reason why all of these demons know Dr. Jensen?”

“Yeah, she took care of my mother. That’s all I know though.”

“What?! So she knew her?”

“Knew her? She took the same classes as you.” 

“Really? Wow, that’s weird. I guess I really am like her. What was her full name?”

“Ashanti Marie Foster.” 

“Foster? That’s my last name…”

“Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”

“Maybe…it’s such a beautiful amulet.”

“I guess you can keep it. Here, I’ll put it on you.” So she handed me the necklace and I latched it on her below the necklace I gave her. 

“There, a necklace fit for a princess.”

“Princess?”

“Well, I am a prince…so that makes you a princess.”

“A princess…wow, I like that. I can get used to that.”

“I can too,” I assured before I kissed her cheek.


	5. Tea and Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter introduces Bindi, Noiri, DeeDee, Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, and Princess Morbucks into the story. It is also the first chapter that delves into the past life of Ashanti Marie Foster.

By the end of June, HIM and I found out from Lucilia (the receptionist) that Shanti actually did live in the same apartment years ago and I guess that she just left her amulet behind that fateful day that she was kidnapped by HIM’s father. But we still didn’t know how she got the amulet or who even gave it to her. And I also knew now that the giant puzzle of Dr. Jensen’s life that I was so close to solving grew bigger now that I knew that she actually took care of Shanti but HIM wasn’t really sure how long or what happened to her birth parents. But now it made sense why both the demons and HIM were so interested in knowing more about Dr. Jensen, I mean she raised their former queen. And as for our love life, it’s been better since the other demons know that I am HIM’s wife and it’s been way more romantic too. Rayna and Jayna eventually learned how to deal with me too so work has been better…

And by the beginning of July, I was crowned princess of the Underworld and I turned into an instant celebrity in both Townsville and the Underworld. Eventually, HIM and I couldn’t go anywhere without someone asking me for a picture or an autograph. And although I was camera shy, I actually kinda liked being popular for once in my life. And I even ended up on the cover of two local magazines in Townsville after being interviewed by one of the most known reporters. But I guess the humans of Townsville and the demons of the Underworld had something in common: they were both enamored by the fact I looked like Shanti…actually, the fact that I basically lived the same life as her. Apparently, most of the civilians knew of Shanti too and talked about how cheerful and kind she was so I guess that was why they were so nice to me when I first came and even knowing that someone else out there lived the same life as me and has the same face as me is just mind blowing.

July 4th came quickly after it was all said and done and it brought the beaming sun that blinded me even though I was still trying to sleep. But then it disappeared from my sight and I felt HIM cuddle me closer to him as he tried to sleep. The funny thing was that he didn’t even need sleep just like other demons, but it was just another mortal sentiment that he fell for. I was able to sleep a little more until my alarm went off and I hit the snooze twice. But after that, I felt HIM’s grip around my waist falter and suddenly, I felt him tapping my shoulder to wake me up. I looked up at him and smiled, before I threw his pillow at him. I mean we both stayed up the night before and after what happened, I was tired but it was still satisfying either way. He just shook off my attack, and picked me up before showering me with kisses and taking me to my bathroom. After our shower, he placed me back on my bed and waved his claw in front of me to expose my old blue, white, and red dress Kierra bought me back in July of 2008 and it actually still fit pretty well even though I was a C back then and now I’m a D. And he put some red sandals on my feet with some bangles on my arms and he snapped the necklace he gave me and Shanti’s amulet on my neck. But then the strangest thing happened, the amulet turned red, white, and blue to match my dress. We were both shocked at what happened, but we had no idea how and why it did that.

After breakfast, HIM went back to my bathroom to re-apply some of his makeup and then he came back with his makeup bag and started doing my own makeup and then he pulled my hair to the side and put it in a ponytail holder and then braided it. Then, he told me he was going to walk me to Ana’s house for her little tea party. When we got there, I noticed how their house looked so different from all the other houses in the neighborhood and how it was bigger too. It resembled a square attached to a rectangle that was the garage and it had three circular windows above the red door and a vintage sports car as well as a minivan was parked in the driveway. So I knocked on the door and Janie answered it, but she looked like she was half way dressed when she came. Her curl wand was still in her hair, her makeup was smudged, and her clothes were half on. “Oh, hey Jodi! Mami’s been expecting you. Come in.” We followed her lead and I noticed how retro the inside of the house was too. Then she led us to the screen doors that opened up to the backyard and led us to their garden where an old Asian man was trimming the hedges. He must have heard us coming, because he turned around and waved at us.

“Oh, that’s just Mr. Yoon,” Janie explained. “He’s our new gardener.” Then we finally saw Ana at a small white table that looked like it came from Alice in Wonderland with two blondes, a red head, and a raven haired woman. She saw us from a distance and then waved at us so we hurried to get over to her. She jumped up and hugged both of us.

“Hello! Happy 4th of July! I’m so glad you could make it!”

“Yes, thanks for inviting me.”

“No problem. You’re practically family now…oh, Janie! Is this how you welcome guests? You look homeless! Go back inside and get ready before John grows impatient and you know Princess and Duchess don’t like waiting.”

“Yes, mami. Bye, Jodi!”

“Bye, Janie!” I greeted before she walked away.

“Oh, Janie Belle Utonium! What am I going to do with her?! So, HIM, what brings you here?”

“Yeah, what brings you here? You weren’t invited!” the raven haired lady yelled.

“You can calm down, Mange. I just wanted to walk Jodi here is all.”

“You watch it, you cross dressing lobster!”

“Alright, Buttercup. That’s enough.”

“Sorry, Ana.”

“Still immature as always, eh Buttercup? Well, anyway, goodbye Jodi.” He kissed me and then disappeared.

“Oh, girls, this is Jodi. Jodi, this is Blossom, Bubbles, you’re aware of Buttercup now, and their old friend, DeeDee.”

“Hey, Jodi! It’s nice to meet you!” Bubbles perked up.

“Nice to meet you too.”

“She’s easily excitable,” Buttercup huffed. “But it’s nice to see what the fuss is all about.”

“Don’t mind her,” Blossom added. “She’s upset because her husband, Ace is out on business for a month. She has sexual tension whenever he’s away.”

“Oh, I apologize.”

“So, I hear you’re quite the celebrity,” DeeDee started.

“Now, DeeDee,” Ana started. “No need to interrogate the girl. She hasn’t even gotten comfortable yet.” So after she said that, she pulled up a chair for me to sit down.

“Yeah, I guess I have…” But before I could finish, an Asiatic looking man and Janie walked over to where we were and the man just stared at me and started pointing at my necklace before he started jumping up and down.

“What is all the fuss, John?” Ana asked.

“That’s…that’s Shanti’s amulet! Where did you get that, miss?”

“Her name is Jodi and what do you mean, John?”

“I got it from my apartment’s medicine cabinet. Oh, you knew Shanti?”

“Knew her? I met her once. She was such a sweet young lady. I hope she’s okay wherever she is now. Dr. Jensen gave her that necklace.”

“What?! I’m not surprised that you are aware of Dr. Jensen but she gave her that necklace?”

“Yeah, she did from what Shanti told me.”

“Wait, Dr. Jensen gave her that?! I had no idea!” Blossom exclaimed.

“Well, John, word on the street is Jodi knows her too.”

“You know her?!” Blossom screamed.

“Yeah, I had two classes with her.”

“Is she as amazing as she sounds?!” John asked.

“I guess. Everyone seems to love her back at home. She’s basically a celebrity where I went to school. I just never thought her fanbase would make it all the way over here.”

“Are you kidding me?! Everyone in this area of California is aware of her…”

“And in the magical world,” Ana added.

“And apparently the Underworld. Wow, but do you only know of her because of Shanti?”

“No…” But before he could tell me, Janie kept on begging him to take her to Duchess’ house across town, so he said his goodbyes and left with her.

“Question,” I started. “Who’s Princess and Duchess?”

“Princess is our mortal enemy…or one of our mortal enemies,” Buttercup spewed.

“What she means is…she was a pain in the butt for us. Buttercup’s still sour because she turned Mitch against her. Mitch is her husband and he was Buttercup’s best friend from grade school to high school. She’s also the owner of Femininity magazine, which your beloved teacher made the cover of last month,” Blossom said.

“What?” She saw I was shocked, so she tossed the magazine over to me and I saw that she was in her favorite purple top and black skinny jeans and also was wearing her favorite necklace. And the headline said, “Dr. Joanna Jensen: Jersey Girl Born in a Man’s World”.

“She’s is so amazing! She stuck it to the man! And she does so much…I can’t believe she has the time to do everything…”

“You and me both. Wow, I’m curious to look at the article now.”

“What all does she do?” DeeDee asked while I went through the pages.

“She’s a high school teacher, a professor at two colleges, a part time doctor, and a part time chiropractor.”

“Damn! How old is she?”

“60,” I murmured before I came across the article.

“60?! And she can do all of that?!” DeeDee exclaimed. “Man, she’s Superwoman.”

“More like Silver Superwoman,” Buttercup remarked.

“Not really. She does invest in hair dye a little too much,” I remarked.

“She talks about her life and all of her accomplishments in the article,” Blossom told me.

“I’m aware of most of that. I took two classes with her so I know most of her life already. She’s kinda of an open book…her and her sister.”

“Her sister?”

“Yeah, Rachel. They both teach at my old school.”

“Aww! They must be so close!” Bubbles chirped.

“I guess…Rachel is the only one that can calm her down when she gets all excitable.”

“They have reason to be. It says in the article that she lost her older sister when she was a baby.”

“What was her name…if she had one?” Bubbles asked.

“Michelle,” I moaned. Then I came across a gallery of pictures behind the article and one of the pictures was a family picture that included Shanti in it. “It’s Shanti again…hey, Blossom, can I take a picture of this?”

“You can keep it. I bought two just for the hell of it. And this was the only issue that was sold out the minute it hit store shelves.”

“Wow! The people here are kinda like the ones back home…only they’re nicer.”

“What are the people like back at home?” DeeDee asked.

“They’re kinda of rude. They really don’t understand people like me.”

“Oh, well you’re going to feel so welcome here, Jodi,” Ana assured. “There’s no such thing as normal here.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“John gets so worked up about her. You should see his office. She made the cover of his Science Monthly magazine four times and he has every issue. He was so excited when he met Shanti too. It’s his dream to meet her but I shouldn’t be jealous. I mean we have plenty of attributes that are quite the same.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I ruled a kingdom all by myself, with no stable man for 26 consecutive years, I have a masters in Biochemistry, and masters in culinary arts, and I’m probably just as smart as her.”

“You don’t have to worry about the Professor leaving, Ana,” Buttercup remarked. “Plus she’s married…and I don’t think she’s leaving him if she’s anything like I’ve heard she’s like.”

“If you heard that she’s easily excitable, dramatic, and moody…then yeah, you’re right.”

“Pretty much, Jodi,” she answered back.

“I just admire her strength,” Blossom moaned.

“Gosh, every time some feminist comes up, she goes all gaga for them!”

“Whatever, Buttercup. I bet Jodi feels the same way.”

“I guess, Blossom,” I moaned. “I mean she is the definition of Miss Independent but I don’t know if she’s actually a feminist.”

“Doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t even care. I hope I get to meet her one day.”

“I thought the same thing sophomore year. Everyone made such a big deal about her and I didn’t know what they meant until this year.”

“Tea, Madame Ana?” an older Asian woman asked while holding a plate with a teapot and cups on it.

“Yes, thank you, Mrs. Yoon. Oh, and do get some hot chocolate for Miss Jodi.”

“I’ll be right on it, Madame,” she assured while pouring tea for all the other women. Then she left and came right back with a cup of hot chocolate for me.

“Will that be all for now, Madame? I’m almost done with the lady fingers and mini danishes.”

“Yes, will you go in John’s office and bring me those four Science Monthly magazines on his desk?”

“Sure thing, Madame.”

“Is that Mr. Yoon’s wife?” I asked after she left.

“Yep. Soon Yi is a very nice woman. She just likes to help around the house whenever her husband is working in our yard. I always give her a nice tip too even though she never wants to take our money. They’re both retired, so it gives them something to do.”

“Well, that’s nice of you, Ana.”

“Oh, I never treated the help badly even when I was queen. I figure they have feelings too.”

“I have the magazines and the finger foods are done as well,” she assured as she placed the platter down and then handed Ana the magazines. “Enjoy and I’m brewing some more tea for you lovely ladies.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Yoon!” we are greeted before she left.

“Wow, how did you know I liked hot chocolate?”

“HIM told me,” Ana answered quickly. “Here, these are the four issues of Science Monthly she appeared on. The first was in 2006…”

“I can tell. Her hair was short.”

“It was a really big deal because this magazine is only circulated in California and every issue either had a male scientist or a picture of some scientific discovery or something on the cover but she made history being not only the first woman on the cover but the only woman as of now and the first woman to be on four different covers. The other three years were 2008, 2010, and 2012.”

“And this year she made the cover of Femininity magazine,” Blossom added.

“Wow, people in California are really fascinated with her like the ones in Georgia. I wonder how she would feel to know that she has a fan base here.”

“If I was her, I would feel so loved and adored.”

“What are you talking about, Blossom? We were superheroes and we were adored and loved,” Buttercup spewed.

“Wait, I just found an article in the 2008 issue about Shanti’s amulet. Apparently, she just experimented with elements they use in mood rings to make it. And it was a birthday gift for her.”

“Wow, so you have Shanti’s amulet she got for her birthday,” Bubbles observed.

“It’s not that…it’s that Shanti and I have the same birthday.”

“It’s probably just a coincidence.”

“No, it isn’t, Buttercup. There’s another girl out there who has my face, had my life, and has the same birthday as me! I have to find out where she is…I have to meet her!”

“Overly dramatic much,” Buttercup spewed before taking a sip of her tea. “What kind of tea is this? It’s not very good.”

“Earl Grey,” Ana answered. “It’s my favorite alternative to coffee.”

“Eww. I only drink green, white lily, and black tea.”

“You could be thankful, Buttercup,” Blossom remarked. “Mrs. Yoon is a very nice lady and she did all of this for us.”

“Never mind Buttercup or your delightful teacher, but I hear you had quite a senior year,” DeeDee started to change the subject.

“Yes, I did. Actually, I brought some of my drawings so you could get an idea of the crazy people I had to deal with.”

“Crazy people? Oh, that’s nothing for us. Ellington, where I live, and here in Townsville are full of crazy people. But I’m sure you had some mean girls too.”

“That’s an understatement. The two queen bees were Alyssa DePlanche and Natasha Artis and the two bitches were Erica Konrad and Sorina Hernandez.”

“Well, they sound lovely. I had to deal with mean girls too, Jodi. I remember the three I had to deal with my freshman year: Rachel, Mitzi, and Astrid. Rachel’s still in jail though ever since she attacked me more than once. Then we had to deal with Julie Smith and Princess here. Yep, my high school years were very crazy too.”

“I’m glad to hear I’m not alone. But you never want to journey to the Peach. Georgia is nothing like here.”

“I could only imagine,” DeeDee said before taking a sip of her tea.

“I brought out more tea,” Mrs. Yoon called before she came by us. “It’s herbal green tea now. Who would like some?”

“Me,” Buttercup started before she poured the tea in her cup. “Mrs. Yoon, I only drink green, white lily, and black tea.”

“Of course, Madame Buttercup. Would you like some more hot cocoa, Madame Jodi?”

“No, but do you have some iced tea by any chance?”

“Yes, I’ll make it right away. Lemon?”

“Yes, please and you can just call me Jodi.”

“Of course, Jodi.”

“Wow, she really is nice. Oh and what is white lily tea?”

“White Lily Tea comes from the white lily that’s only found in the magical world. DeeDee’s oldest daughter, Alejandra, always brings some tea leaves for me and her mother whenever she comes too.”

“She lives in the magical world?”

“Lives?! She’s the Queen of New Luminia, a thriving kingdom in the magical world.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.”

“Yes, my daughter is quite amazing. She’s married now with three kids of her own.”

“Well, enough of that. So how’s your relationship with HIM?”

“Bubbles! Why would you want to know?! He’s not your boy toy anymore.”

“It’s not a big deal, Buttercup. I want to know too,” Blossom assured.

“And I want to know too,” Ana agreed.

“Oh, HIM is great. He’s so sweet and kind and he’s a wonderful husband…”

“Husband?!” Buttercup shrieked.

“You didn’t know we were married? He marked me as his own,” I assured before I pushed my braid to the side and exposed my scar.

“You let that monster do that to you?!”

“Buttercup, stop it! I think that’s sweet. I remember the night he marked me…it’s just too bad our relationship didn’t last long.”

“Thank you, Bubbles. Yeah, HIM is so careful and cautious with me too but I know it’s because he loves me and cares about me…after all, I did scare him a couple of times.”

“What do you mean?” DeeDee asked.

“I used to cut myself. Both of my arms were covered in scars and I suffered from anxiety attacks quite often as well.”

“You used to be a cutter? So was I,” Buttercup said. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that too.”

“It’s fine. I’m better now thanks to HIM.”

“I’m so glad he found you. He was so depressed after Elysia died. I noticed the change before anyone else did. I just wanted him to be happy and now that he’s found you, he’s so happy again,” Ana said.

“Please keep him, Jodi,” Bubbles added. “You really are perfect for him.”

“But we just met…”

“I know. But people can tell what type of person you are.”

“Thanks, Bubbles.”

“Well, enough with that, how is sex with a demon?” DeeDee asked.

 

“DeeDee, don’t you know already? I told you,” Bubbles whispered.

“I want to hear it from her. She’s kinda new to the whole magical…supernatural thing.”

“Yeah, Townsville is very different from Metro Atlanta. There are demons lurking everywhere and magical creatures all over the place. Everyone’s quite normal in Georgia…and normal, I mean uptight and rude to anyone who isn’t, especially an awkward black girl as myself.”

“Well, like I said before, normal isn’t really a thing here. You can be as awkward as you want to be here. No one will ever judge you,” Ana insisted.

“Now back to the question at hand,” DeeDee said.

“It’s amazing, that’s all I can say. I don’t really kiss and tell…he’s my first, so I really don’t know how to explain it. But what I can say is that he makes me feel special and he sees past my awkwardness and my flaws and just loves me for who I am. For me, it’s not just about the intimacy…it’s about the friendship we developed ever since we met. He’s not just my husband, or my partner, or my lover, he’s my best friend and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Aww! That’s so sweet!” Bubbles chirped trying to wipe away her tears. “HIM has been quite a gentleman for some time.”

“And I’ve never seen him act this way towards any girl except for you…not even me, or Bubbles, or Elysia, just you. You’re very special, Jodi. I know you don’t see it now, but you are. And it’s not just because you have the same face as Shanti or had the same life as her…it’s deeper than that.”

“Thanks, Ana. I guess I’ll see that eventually.”

“I have your tea, Jodi,” Mrs. Yoon chirped. “And I also have Madame Buttercup’s tea and some more pastries…oh, Jodi, may I say you are quite an artist!” I didn’t know what she was talking about until I remembered that I left a stack of my drawings on the table.

“Thank you.”

“I hear Shanti was quite the artist too…well, I didn’t hear…she actually sketch John his own portrait. It’s hanging up in his study.”

“Would you like me to bring it, Madame Ana?”

“That will be fine, Mrs. Yoon.”

“I’ll get it right away, Madame.”

“These are really good drawings,” Bubbles observed after Mrs. Yoon left. “I’m a hobby artist myself and I’m not even this good.”

“Really? Because HIM was bragging on you.”

“He forgets nothing,” she moaned going through the rest of my drawings. “I see Dr. Jensen is one of your favorites to draw.”

“She’s just so easy to draw compared to other people I used to know.”

“Nothing’s wrong with that. You admire her like Blossom and I admire Ms. Keane.”

“Ms. Keane?”

“She was our kindergarten teacher. We still keep in touch every now and then,” Blossom answered.

“She was kinda a celebrity here like Dr. Jensen is a celebrity back where you’re from,” Buttercup explained. “I took her position after she retired.”

“And the kids really like Mrs. Copular,” DeeDee teased.

“I had these twins once, Calypso and Kailia Papadakis, they were half Dominican and half Greek and they just loved me to death. They competed to see who I liked better.”

“That sounds like my senior year in a nutshell. It was a competition to see who would get the most attention from Dr. Jensen. It was me against crazy Laurie Yoder, the other crazy Melissa Jackson, Alyssa DePlanche, Natasha Ardis, and semi-bitchy Simone Patel. I feel like I won though for the most part…yeah, I was awkward but I still stayed in the game.”

“Wow, and I thought my high school years were crazy,” DeeDee remarked. “You literally competed to see who the teacher liked better?! Your school was very different from mine…I just tried to deal with the annoying students to survive…the teachers were the last thing on my mind.”

“Try my school is different from any school in this area and in any other area of Georgia…maybe even different from any school in the nation.’

“Nerd High to the core,” Buttercup teased. “Was your school for gifted kids or something?”

“What? How did you know that?”

“HIM told me,” Ana added.

“Yeah, it was. I wasn’t a part of the ‘Intels’ though. I was a ‘Normie’ but I did graduate in the top 20 percentile of my class. But yeah, anything goes at Nerd High. It’s so topsy turvy from what you know…the nerds are the popular kids.”

“The nerds were the popular kids?! What the hell?!” Buttercup shrieked. “Wow, your school really is weird. That’s not how things worked at Townsville High.”

“Or Ellington High,” DeeDee answered. “The ditzy mean girls were always on top.”

“Nerds can just as mean as ditzy mean girls. It’s a whole clique system for them. Alyssa and Natasha were the queen bees of the ‘Intels’ clique. But some Intels were outside of it because they pissed off Alyssa. Normies weren’t allowed in but Alyssa made one exception after she had that huge falling out with Laurie and she let Normie Theodora Beaumont in since she was dating one of the smartest Intels in the clique, Carlton Johnson. That makes Dr. Jensen the Queen Bee of the Intel Teachers…Intel Teachers were the teachers in the Intel Hallway…the cleanest hallway at my school where I took all of my science classes. Dr. Jensen’s room was 626 and the hall formed a square around, wall covered in the darkest green paint. It was my home hallway because as a Normie, I actually had many classes in that hall with the Intels. I was one of the only Normies that could penetrate through the barriers of the Intel Hallway. What makes Dr. Jensen the Queen Bee is the fact that she has six doctoral degrees and made almost as much as the principal. She had the most credentials in the school making her above the rules. She could do whatever the hell she wanted and no one told her anything…she had seniority so she could break the rules.”

“Wow, that’s a weird clique system. So everyone put Dr. Jensen on a pedestal there,” DeeDee pondered.

“Pretty much. It was the first thing I learned when I got there. Actually, Theodora and I are the only Normies that really figured out how the whole Intel system works. Theodora got in too close to the Intels, I just stayed on the sidelines…hung out in room 626…and observed everything closely.”

“So this Theodora was a wannabee Intel?” Buttercup asked.

“Pretty much, but she’s cool so I never judged her. She would have been an Intel like me but our math scores were low. Somehow, I still made better grades than her though. She would always be in the Intel Clique though but she nicknamed them the ‘Nerd Herd’.”

“So how are the Normies treated there?” Blossom asked. “It seems like the Intels get special treatment.”

“The second thing that I learned, after I figured out Dr. Jensen was the Queen Bee and she had all of the administrators, principals, and teachers wrapped around her finger, was that the Intels got the best at the school and the Normies were treated like the stepchild. But I was different from most Normies from the start. Like I said, I graduated in the top 20 percentile of my class and I broke through the barrier of the Intel Hallway. I was treated different from the other Normies by the teachers because I worked like an Intel, I just lacked the title. My image came across as an emo stoner that smoked weed in the woods when in all actuality, I was just trying to find myself and hide my scars. And they knew…well, only Dr. Jensen really knew I cut myself. My only real friends were Syenna and Michael but every now and then Theodora, Briella, Marie, and Jessica were fine to be around…”

“Madame Ana, I have the drawing…my apologies that it took so long. I had a hard time getting it off of the wall.”

“That’s fine, Mrs. Yoon. Thank you.”

“Would anyone like anything else?”

“Oh no, I think we’re fine here, Mrs. Yoon,” DeeDee insisted.

“Okay,” Mrs. Yoon said before she left.

“So how did Dr. Jensen find out you cut yourself?” Buttercup asked.

“We did this experiment in Psych were we had to have our arms exposed, and I refused…I just sat their tapping my pencil on my desk while everyone else did the experiment. She pulled me to the side and asked me what was wrong and then I showed her my arms. I never told her I cut up my left arm for her and she was so cool about it…I mean my parents already knew about what I did…and she offered to help…but I told her I didn’t need it. Every now and then, I did stop by just to check on her…but it was still an awkward situation either way…”

“Wow, that’s some deep shit. Sorry about that,” Buttercup quickly said.

“Jodi, this is the portrait Shanti drew of John,” Ana explained before she handed it to me. When I actually took a closer look at it, I noticed how much it looked like him and I realized that Shanti might have been a better artist than me.

“According to John, Shanti had visions and she would always draw them down. He told me she showed him many drawings and paintings she did of her visions.”

“Yeah, she’s a really talented artist. Maybe even better than me.”

“Well, you’re just as good too,” Bubbles assured. “Every artist has their own unique style and special medium.”

“That’s a good thought, Bubbles. Thanks.”

“Ana! I’m back! Sorry I took so long, I stopped at the auto shop…”

“John, you’re not making another K.A.R.R.! If you let a car replace me…it will be the end of you!”

“I wouldn’t dream of making a new K.A.R.R. Actually, I just wanted to look around. Janie’s just going to stay at Duchess’ place and go with them to the park so we can just meet them there.”

“Which park is the barbeque being held?”

“Townsville Park…the one down the street from the Otto Time Diner,” John answered. “Wait, what are my four special copies of Science Monthly and portrait doing out here? Did you send for Mrs. Yoon to get this stuff from my office, Ana?”

“Yes, John. I just wanted to show Jodi. You can bring them back if you want.”

“Thank you,” he said taking his stuff from Ana. “Now I have to put all of this stuff back.” He huffed that last part before he walked away from us.

“See what I mean?” Ana asked.

“Yeah, I think I do,” I smugly answered. “But enough about me, what do you guys do…I mean like your occupation…your lives…”

“Well, you already know that I’m a kindergarten teacher but I’m also happily married to the best man in the world, Ace Darius Copular, a hunky Italian mutant who is CEO of Malph’s Corporation…the biggest supermarket franchise in all of southern California especially here and Ellington. I also have three beautiful children…boy/girl twins Spade Aldrin and Clover Audrie and another daughter, Isabella “Bella” Giada Copular.”

“I’m my husband’s right hand woman at his laboratory, DexLabs. My husband is the renowned scientist, Dexter McPhearson and we have a beautiful daughter together, Marlow Bethanie McPhearson.”

“Blossom’s husband, Dexter, is my little brother. My husband, Steven Astronomonov, is Dexter’s right hand man and the co-founder of DexLabs. I used to be a dancer and actress but after I became a mother, I became a stay-at-home mom. I have three kids…boy/girl twins McKenna and Malone and another daughter named Meghan,” DeeDee answered.

“And I’m a veterinarian and founder of my own clinic, Utonium Veterinary Clinic in Downtown Townsville. I’m married to a wonderful man by the name of Boomer and we have a beautiful daughter named Briella Michelle.”

“The craziest thing about me is that Janie isn’t my daughter.”

“She isn’t?”

“No, she isn’t. You see, I wanted another child but I couldn’t have any. I know you’re probably wondering how because Janie is older than Bindi and I actually gave birth to Bindi…but HIM has his ways…I never did sleep with him though…anyway, I had a friend named Melrose who had a daughter named Reagan. Long story short, Buttercup accidently killed Melrose in a fight when she terrorized Townsville once. Reagan was about eleven or twelve when it happened. When she finally found out what happened, she wanted revenge against Buttercup and she ended up using Ace as a pawn to get Buttercup jealous and then ended up pregnant with Janie. She knew I wanted a baby, so she left her on my doorstep one day and just left town. She actually gave her the name Janie and I just call her Belle sometimes. Janie actually did get to meet her once…on her birthday a few years back.”

“Wow…I had no idea.”

“If you saw my husband, you would see the resemblance. She takes more after him than she does Reagan.”

“I see.”

 

Two hours passed and we kept on talking about our lives and experiences. Ana’s life story was much more interesting than the others though, so I was way more intrigued by her stories. Around four, HIM came with Bindi and Noiri who were spending time with Adanna and Lu all week. In person, I noticed how much Bindi looked like Ana and I supposed that Noiri looked just like Elysia. HIM, of course, rushed me to leave so we could get to the park on time and Ana told me that they were going to meet us there. Bindi and Noiri also didn’t talk to me at first, until we got to the park. HIM had already set up camp by the big oak but I noticed four umbrellas and chairs that were right underneath the hill that held the big oak. Bindi and Noiri rushed by the big oak and sat down on the picnic blanket but I stayed behind with him when Rayna, Jayna, Jessica, and Jenny noticed us underneath the umbrellas.

“Hey Jodi! Hey HIM!” they all greeted happily.

“You look cute,” Jessica added.

“Thanks, it was all HIM’s work.”

“I see you brought Bindi and Noiri,” Jenny observed.

“Yes, they were spending time with their grandparents.”

“Bindi looks more and more like Ana every day,” Jessica complimented.

“I know, I see it too,” he assured.

“Daddy! Daddy! Can we eat?” Bindi called.

“Oh, well I better tend to my daughters. See you at work, girls.”

“Bye HIM! Bye Jodi!” they all called. When we went up back by the girls, I noticed that Bindi was holding the picnic basket in her lap just waiting for HIM to tell her it was alright to eat. I didn’t really understand why she was so hungry though, I mean she was part demon but maybe she fell for mortal sentiments as well. HIM just went by her and opened the basket for her while I sat by Noiri on the other side of the blanket.

“Bindi, these are just snacks. We’re having a barbeque too before the fireworks.”

“Okay, daddy,” she said in the squeakiest voice possible. “Hey, daddy, is this your pet?”

“Your stepmother, yes. My pet, never.”

“Stepmother? When did she become my stepmother?”

“A month ago. But you’re going to like Jodi. She’s really sweet.”

“Okay, daddy. Hey, look, I think Noiri found something on the tree behind you.” HIM and I both looked back to see Noiri staring at a marking on the tree we were sitting behind. So HIM got up and looked at it and said that it read, ‘Happy Fourth of July –Shai.’ Then Bindi noticed a lump in the soil by the roots and dug it up to find a journal inside of the hole. She dusted it off and read ‘Shai’s Journal’.

“Who’s Shai?” I asked.

“It’s pronounced ‘Shay’. She wrote that at the bottom of the line of the journal. It’s what Dr. Jensen used to call my mother if she didn’t feel like saying Shanti.”

“But I thought Shanti was short for Ashanti. Weird. Hey, how come that journal looks like my old AP Psych Vocab Book?”

“The title is a sticker placed over the composition notebook,” Bindi observed before she peeled it off. “Look it says, ‘Shai’s Vocab Book…AP Psychology…Dr. Jensen’.”

“So this was her vocab book for that class. Why did she make it into a journal?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Jodi.”

“Daddy, look Noiri found a sheet of paper in the hole too,” Bindi announced. So Noiri came over and handed him the paper. But when he did take it, a picture fell out from the side of the closed note. When he picked it up, he observed that it was her and him when he was a baby and they were sitting in this same exact spot.

“Fourth of July. That’s right, it all makes sense now! She left the day after. This is really the only memory I have of her.”

“Independence Day! I think it’s symbolic. You know, she was psychic. She already knew her fate but she finally found the courage to break free from your father.”

“Daddy, are these from our real grandmother?”

“They sure are. This is what she looks like,” he answered before handing the picture to Bindi.

“She looks just like Jodi! That’s funny!”

“I get that a lot,” I assured before flipping my hair.

“Well, read the note, daddy. I want to hear what she had to say.” So he opened the note and we saw that it was written in bubbly, teenage girl handwriting kinda like my own and I could already tell she was left-handed as well since some of the ink was smudged. But it read:

**_Dear HIM, if you are reading this that means you’ve finally met the love of your life and you’ve finally noticed the note I left in the tree that fateful day. I just want to start off by saying, the fireworks that I saw that night gave me the courage to leave the prison I once called home and to break away from the warden that kept me locked away in his prison. I want to let you know that I’m perfectly fine and to not worry about me. I’m still trying to find my way just like you are. I’m sorry I left you behind though. I truly do love you and it was out of love that I left. If I stayed, you would have never known the love that stands next to you now. I also left my journal behind so you know the underlying reasons why I had to leave. So again please don’t worry about me and when the time is near, you will see me again. I promise. I left this picture behind to show you how much I loved you…and I can’t wait to see you again. Take care for now until the day we’ll see each other again._ **

**_Love, Ashanti “Shanti” or “Shai” Marie Foster_ **

“She left because of my father,” HIM said after he read the letter. “He kept her locked away in the Underworld and forced her to be his sex slave. She did love me, but she had to get away from my father. I was the product of rape.”

“Oh, HIM. I’m sorry,” I quickly said. “What your father did was wrong. He kidnapped an innocent and fragile eighteen year old girl and turned her world more upside down than it already was. He preyed on her frailty and kept her under lock and key. But even though that was the underlying reason you were conceived, I know as well as you know she really did love you. And I know she probably misses you so much.”

“I know she does, Jodi. Thank you. She knew about you.”

“She was psychic.”

“She knew I would meet you one day. That means, our love was meant to be and I was meant to meet you. It was your destiny to end up in Townsville, come for work in my diner, and fall in love with me.”

“I guess it was. Wow. So many strange things have happened to me, but maybe it was a setup of what was to come.”

“What’s in her journal?” Bindi asked. So I opened it and a picture of her and Dr. Jensen fell out along with a note in the back of the journal. Bindi picked them up and I noticed a bunch of vocab words in the front but as I went through it, I noticed paragraphs in the middle of the notebook about visions she had and she had a little illustration of each by the paragraphs and in the back, she had little entries about her life going back to the first night she spent at the Jensen’s house.

“Hey, look Jodi,” HIM quickly chirped. “Bindi just showed me the note and it was from Dr. Jensen addressed to your apartment.”

“Wait, how did she know she was here?”

“She must have sent her a letter to tell her that she was okay.”

“I guess. What does it say?” He handed it to me and I read:

**_Dear Shai, I am glad to hear that you have found a new place to stay .I hope you are well. Katrina has been worried about you as much as me…well Francis has been worried sick too but he will not admit that kind of information. I hope you will keep on sending us letters too so that we know you are still well. Well take care and just know that I will be praying that you never fall prey to harm again._ **

**_With love Dr. Joanna Siciliano Jensen_ **

“Yeah, that sounds like something Dr. Jensen would write.”

“Who’s Katrina and Francis?”

“Francis is her husband and Katrina is her daughter. I guess Shanti and Katrina were close.”

“Wow, we found buried treasure, daddy!” Bindi chirped.

“The best buried treasure we could ever find. I never knew this much about my mother,” he said while going through the pages of her vocab book/journal.

“Looks like you found another piece of the puzzle,” Ana observed as she walked near us. “The barbecue is ready now. Bindi, Noiri, you can come with me and fix your food.”

“Yay!” Bindi chirped.

“They’re coming home with me tonight, right?”

“Of course, Ana. You know the schedule.”

“Right. Janie missed them and so did John and I,” she assured before she walked away with Bindi and Noiri.

“Wow, we really hit the jackpot, HIM. Another piece of Shanti and Dr. Jensen’s puzzle has been found.”

“Hello,” a voice said above us and then I looked up to see a red-haired woman wearing a halter top and shorts with black sandals standing in front of us. “Hello, Mr. Ultimate Evil.”

“Hello, Princess Morbucks.”

“Actually, it’s Princess Morbucks-Mitchelson now. Don’t you know I’m married now with a wonderful little daughter, Miss Duchess?”

“I forgot temporarily,” he moaned.

“Anyway, I couldn’t help but notice Shanti’s look-alike sitting over here.”

“How do you know about my mother?”

“You obviously didn’t read my issue of Femininity magazine that featured Dr. Joanna Siciliano Jensen and I read other tabloids to know what I’m up against. And it seems like Jodi is the new It-girl at least in the Ellington-Townsville area. So, is it true you knew my bestseller cover model?”

“Yeah, she was my Honors Biology and AP Psychology teacher.”

“Just like Shanti. Wow, this is gold. Well, I’m going to have to hear more about your story later, Miss Jodi. Oh and here’s my card. I’ll keep in touch,” she assured before she threw her card at me then she winked before she walked away.

“I don’t trust her, Jodi. Don’t call her. She’s just going to twist your story to have a scoop.”

“She accurately portrayed Dr. Jensen. I don’t think I have anything to worry about.”

“Don’t trust her, Jodi. Stay far away from her. I know her all too well.”

“Daddy! This barbecue is good! You and Miss Jodi should get some!” Bindi cheered as she and Noiri walked back by us.

“We’ll get some. Come on, Jodi.”

 

We stayed at the park until midnight right when the fireworks were starting to die down. The barbecue was also phenomenal so I got like three plates which probably wasn’t the best idea since I felt like a stuffed turkey on Thanksgiving. HIM had to carry me home but he didn’t really mind that he had too. After our long, relaxing bath, I took out Shanti’s journal from my bag and put it in my nightstand drawer. And then I cuddled next to HIM and we watched TV until I fell asleep, leaning against his chest.

The next morning, I woke up but HIM was gone and I saw that he left a note on his pillow that said he had to tend to some business in the Underworld and that he would be back in about three hours. So I got up and got ready but as I went to get something out of my bag, Princess’ business card fell out and I picked it up and got the idea to call her since HIM wasn’t there. He told me not too, but I still wanted to call her anyway. She sounded happy to hear from me again and she told me she would immediately come to my apartment to talk to me. She came really in a hurry and she was wearing sunglasses and held a notepad in her hands with a pencil and a pen and had a messenger bag on her right arm. She quickly made herself at home by plopping herself on my recliner and started asking me all these questions about Dr. Jensen which confused me but I went along with it then she started asking me questions about me so I was more than happy to spill everything but then she cut me off and left in a hurry. HIM came back five minutes after she left but I never told him that I called Princess and let her interview me.

A week passed and the July issue of Femininity magazine hit the store shelves and I snuck out of my apartment while HIM was sleeping, and picked up a copy at a newsstand right outside of my apartment complex. But I was shocked by what I saw. The picture she used on the cover was flawless, it was me reclining on my sofa but they white-out the rest of my living room…the only problem was that she focused more on my awkward relationship with Dr. Jensen more than my actual life story. It upset me, but I just shook it off, paying the guy at the stand five dollars, and walked back into my apartment complex. I threw the magazine in my armoire cabinet and lied back down by HIM but he knew that I left.

“Jodi, where did you go?” he whispered.

“The newsstand outside of the complex.”

“Don’t think I don’t know about your elaborate plan while I was gone. You called Princess, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And she twisted your story, didn’t she?”

“Not really. She kinda left out most of my life story to focus on my awkward relationship with Dr. Jensen. Now everyone knows how stupid I was in high school.”

“I told you not to trust her. I told you not to call her. Now, you have to suffer the consequences.”

“I know. I’m just so stubborn. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, HIM.”

“You’ll learn not to open your mouth eventually. But you have plenty of company here. Many of the women you met had pretty awkward high school years too.”

“I’m aware. I just wish I wasn’t so foolish.”

“You’ll learn, Jodi. You’ll learn.”


	6. The Tabloid Ploy

After Princess’ elaborate scheme to shame Jodi in front of all of Townsville by using Dr. Jensen as a prop to sell more magazines, the scheme proved to be successful as magazine sells started to skyrocket for her. Other tabloids and media picked up on her story and began to broadcast it everywhere from TV to Internet. It got so bad that we couldn’t even watch TV anymore and she couldn’t even surf the web without some tabloid bashing her socially awkward nature. 

And she took it very hard, as suspected. She became the laughing stock in Townsville and all the people she thought were kind began to show their true colors. Eventually, she began to wear cloaks when she went out to cover her face and the rest of her body and she only spoke in public when she was working. And our relationship was beginning to strain even though she did always want sex every night to ease the stress and pain she was going through but I knew it wasn’t a genuine, intimate feeling anymore. And when it was all said and done, she would shake in her sleep afterwards and sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night to cry. 

I finally decided that I couldn’t take seeing her broken anymore so I decided to go straight to the source and confront her about what she did to a poor, hurt, and confused teenage girl. So I drudged to her house and knocked on her glass covered French doors. Mitch, her husband, answered the door but when I told him that I came for Princess; he immediately opened the door afraid that I would do something to him if he refused. He led me to this grand room that I supposed was the study and I noticed Princess behind a small desk typing something on her computer. Mitch went up to her to tell I came to talk to her, so she just smacked her lip, got up from her seat, and took her glasses off. 

“What do you want, Mr. Ultimate Evil?” she teased after Mitch left. 

“I want you to perform a public apology to Jodi.”

“Oh, I should have known it was about Jodi. Why should I apologize to her? I made her a star. No one can stop talking about her.”

“You broke her already broken heart. You hurt a poor, innocent teenage girl and for what, more magazine sells and more money…like you need more money!”

“Oh, boo hoo. You probably warned her to steer clear of me. She caused her own pain. Wow, HIM, you really like the dumb ones. A smart girl would have listened.”

“Jodi’s not dumb. She’s very smart.”

“If she was smart, she would have never called me.”

“So you did this on purpose?”

“Of course…to create drama. Dr. Jensen’s life is interesting but Jodi’s story made it better. The Townsville populous just love Dr. Jensen and the only way to keep those tabloids coming is to find a way to twist the story they already know.”

“So you’re using Jodi as a pawn?”

“Now you get it, HIM. Tell your girlfriend to suck it up. That’s life and sometimes life is a bitch.”

“She’s my wife and she will not suck it up! Take it back! Take everything back!”

“Take what back? Oh, naïve HIM, the whole world knows all about Jodi’s flaws and I can’t take that back. She should have never told me that confidential information. And why are you getting so defensive for her? It seems as though she’s soften you. I don’t see why though. She just a stupid, worthless teenage girl and she isn’t even that cute.”

“Jodi is not stupid or worthless! She’s the most beautiful girl I have ever met!” Then my eyes glew green and I grew ten feet high which actually scared her. “Take back what you said and what you did!” I boomed after leaning closer to her face. 

“What are you going to do?”

“Don’t test him, Princess.”

“Mitch, stay out of this.”

“HIM, please don’t send her soul to Hell. At least wait until Duchess moves out. She will fix all of this. Just spare her this time.”

“Fine,” I agreed while I shrunk down. “She better fix everything or I’ll be back.”

 

I returned back to Jodi’s apartment unsure of what Princess thought after I threatened to drag her hopeless soul to the Underworld. She was a bratty, spoiled little girl that turned into an evil, cutthroat, and ruthless woman with the taste for making girls with self-esteem issues feel more miserable about themselves. That’s why the title of her magazine made me question if her whole idea was to strengthen women or just throw successful women, such as Dr. Jensen, in your face and convince you that you couldn’t possibly be like that. Truth be told though, despite what her readers think of Dr. Jensen, I knew that she was far from perfect and her life was definitely far from it too. And it wasn’t just from psychoanalyzing Jodi or knowing that she cut herself for her, I also had proof from some of my mother’s old writing. The women of Townsville and California think she’s the most confident and successful woman in the world almost, but little do they know, she’s just as insecure and broken as they are. But they would never know the truth as long as they listen to Princess. 

When I went to her room, though, she was covered under a bunch of sheets and she was shaking and twisting and turning. I noticed sweat bead falling from her face too so I got closer to her and moved her hair from her neck to check her pulse. She was breathing fine, so I started to pull the blanket and two other sheets off of her and just kept the thin sheet on her. She was still shaking but when I touched her head, her body temperature went down so I felt a little better and the sweat beads began to disappear. But I knew she was having a bad dream because she was muttering under her breath, so I just began to soothe her by licking her neck where her scar was. But I woke her up because she jumped up and turned to me.

“HIM? What are you doing back so soon? I thought you were talking to Princess.”

 

“I was. But now I’m back.”

“Oh, well I missed you. I know you weren’t gone for long but I missed you.” I kissed her forehead after she said that and she began to giggle. She jumped in my lap so I held her closer to me and looked her right in her pretty brown eyes that seemed to sparkle even when she was hollow on the inside. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Huh? Oh, I just love how your eyes sparkle when I look at you.”

"Or how I glow whenever we’re intimate?”

“Yeah, that too. But can I ask you a serious question?”

“What?”

“Why were you trying to suffocate yourself? And were you having a bad dream?”

“It’s been hard for me to cope with all of this bad publicity, you know that. And I’ve been trying to resist cutting myself. I was so used to mutilating myself whenever something bad happened to me. And I was having a bad dream, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I never asked you too. But I have another question.”

“Yes, HIM?”

“Is the only reason why you want sex now is to heal your broken heart?”

“What? What makes you think that?”

“It just doesn’t seem like an intimate feeling anymore…more like a stress reliever. I’m worried about you, Jodi. You’re beginning to scare me.”

“HIM, you know I have self-esteem issues. I always will. I was never good enough to my father, I was always picked on for being different, the only person who understood that was Dr. Jensen…oh, HIM, I miss her so much but I can’t go back like this.” She began to cry so I held her close to me again and tried to console her again. 

“It’s okay, Jodi. I know, I know. I didn’t mean to make you cry, I just want to see you smile again.”

“It’s hard sometimes for me to smile, HIM. I apologize.”

“I don’t need an apology from you. I’m here for you. You are the one that deserves an apology from Princess.”

“What did she say, HIM?”

“Don’t worry about it. If she loves her life, she’ll listen to reason in a near time.”

 

Princess did listen to reason and within another week, she offered a public apology to Jodi at the Town Hall where she was supposed to receive an award for journalism. She also admitted her plot and the real reason she created Femininity magazine so her award was revoked and the crowd that was cheering her on ended up rioting against her. She had to flee back home but her house was bombarded with reporters for two days straight. Eventually, angry Townsville women began to burn all of the Femininity magazines they bought in a giant bonfire in Bonzai Gardens Park but kept the issue that featured Dr. Jensen, which wasn’t much of a shock. A huge wrecking ball came later and took down the building where it was published and new production for another apartment complex downtown is now set to be put in its place. I knew that the people actually felt bad for how they treated Jodi, so I hosted an apology party in the middle of Bonzai Gardens Park and they all brought gifts and their apologies to Jodi. I noticed how happy she was after it was all said and done but the point of no return was when Princess came to the party too only to be booed by the crowd but she brought a suitcase of money for Jodi to seal her apology. But the Zelda in Jodi came out so she actually did forgive her and hugged her in front of the shocked crowd. 

To my shock, Princess published another issue of Femininity magazine on the down low before everything began to crumb in on her and it was actually the truth about Jodi and Dr. Jensen’s relationship and she even put the graduation picture on the front cover. That issue ended up on the racks on the last week of July but we didn’t know until Ana and Janie came to the diner one day. They told us about it and how all of the women were talking about how wonderful Jodi actually sounded now that they finally knew about her kind and caring nature. They admired her concern for her hurting teacher and her joyful nature which was hard to come by in most humans as I observed. So Jodi and I came up with the crazy idea to have a signing at the diner so the women could actually get to know her and get an autograph from her on the cover of the magazine. We scheduled it for the next day and it was a success since the diner was packed with business and I noticed how happy Jodi was again since all of the nice people she began to know became nice once again. 

By the beginning of August, Jodi and I became closer than we ever did before and I began to learn more about her than I ever knew. She changed though from that dreadful experience and I could tell she was becoming stronger spiritually and emotionally but that was why I didn’t want her to know I had to leave pretty soon for some time to tend to some more business in the Underworld. I knew it would hurt her to see me go for so long so I waited to tell her until the night before. Another intimate moment was shared between us that night and her breaths were heavy as she leaned closer to me. She leaned in to kiss me again but I had to tell her so I kinda pushed her away and sat up in the bed. She looked confused so she sat up too and pulled my head so she could look me right in the eye. 

“HIM, what’s wrong? Was I not satisfying?” 

“It’s not the sex. That actually was quite nice, it’s about me…”

“What about you?”

“I have to tend to some important business in the Underworld. A rogue demon escaped from prison and we have to find her before she escapes to the human world. She’s very dangerous and she thrives on the misfortune of susceptible humans.”

“I thought that was what demons did.”

“Yes, but she’s a rogue demon…she disobeys the jurisdiction and power of my father which angers him. He doesn’t like Lezazu either. But if she escapes to the human world, we might never be able to find her.”

“I guess I understand…”

“Jodi, I will make it up to you when I return. Just keep my necklace close to you. So you know I will always be with you. And I know Moxie has you as well.”

“I know she does, but I want you.”

“I know, but I have to take care of this. I am a Prince after all. But don’t worry, my princess, I’ll be back soon enough.”

“Do you have to go now? Right after sex?”

“No, no. I’ll leave in the morning. We can cuddle for the rest of the night.”

“Okay, I don’t mind that.”

The next morning came in a hurry and I woke up with Jodi wrapped tight and snug in my arms. She began to lean closer to me and fidgeted a little to get more comfortable. But I waved my claw in front of her face to put her into a deep sleep, got up and got dressed, then left to return to the Underworld. And I thought she was safe without me, but little did I know, a monster lurked her bedroom now…


	7. The Monster and the Hall of Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a psychological horror/thriller. It involves psychological trauma and a major mental breakdown. Trigger warning ahead. Reader's discretion is advised.

_“Jodi…Jodi,” a voice murmured. “Wake up, Jodi.” I woke up to the voice that called my name. The voice was sweet and soothing almost like an angel and when I looked up, I noticed that I was not in my room anymore instead I was lying in the middle of mirrors that surrounded me and in front of me, was a giant mirror that resembled the black mirror from Oculus. I saw a shadow pass the giant mirror and then I noticed my own reflection in the mirror and I was naked but covered in my old scars I inflicted on myself. I was scared so I jumped back and fell on my face and when I looked up I saw all of the mirrors had a shadow of every person I ever knew back in Georgia and they were looking back at me with gloomy looks on their faces. Then they began to laugh at me and I noticed that I was naked for real so I hurried to cover my breasts with my hair and scrambled to get my blanket to cover me but it disappeared and my shadow in the giant mirror appeared again only for it to fade away and the shadow that replaced it was Dr. Jensen. “You left me, Jodi,” she moaned. “You left me. I’ve been hurt for so long and you left me. Why did you leave me?!” “But I didn’t!” I cried back but to no avail. Then suddenly, Laurie and Melissa’s shadows appeared in the mirrors next to Dr. Jensen’s mirror and all of the glass shattered from the mirrors and landed by my feet. I fell in awe of what happened and began to cry and then I picked my head up to notice a lifeless body lying where I was and when I turned it over I noticed it was her. Then the shadow before came back into view and moaned, “You killed her! You killed her!” “No, I didn’t! What have I done?! She needs me and I left…”_

 

“Jodi! Jodi! You need to wake up! Wake up!” My eyes shot open when I noticed someone lying next to me and then she suddenly turned over and she looked like Dr. Jensen so I assumed that she was Moxie.

“Moxie? What are you doing here?”

“Were you having a bad dream? And I’m not Moxie, I’m Zodie.”

“Zodie? Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Moxie’s more awesome little sister. We’re both shapeshifting demons. I see you are fond of her so I made myself look like her. Unfortunately, I can’t manipulate voices like my sister can.”

“That’s okay. Thank you for coming. And yes, I was having a bad dream.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. You can tell me if you would like.”

“I rather not. I guess HIM left already.”

“Yes, he did.”

“Without saying goodbye…”

“I know…it’s a shame, huh? He made you fall into a deep sleep…he might actually be the cause of your nightmare.”

“No, he wouldn’t be. I love HIM and he loves me and I know he would never purposely inflict harm on me.”

“Are you sure he wouldn’t? He is a demon after all.”

“But he’s better than any normal demon.”

“So you think. He could turn on you at any time.”

“That’s not the HIM I know. I’m going to go freshen up. Don’t mind me.”

“Oh, no. You’re quite fine.” I went to my bathroom after that and started to run my bathwater but then I became intrigued by the mirror, so I went to it and I noticed how unflattering my body actually was. I mean I had a muffin top for days and my skin was still two toned because of the scars I put on my skin. Then a shadow appeared behind me and placed its hands on my naked shoulders.

“You are an ugly little thing. Why would anyone love you?”

“I’m not ugly.”

“Yes, you are. You’re not a perky blonde girl. You’re a worthless, awkward black girl trying to live a white girl’s life. You’ll never be one of them…I don’t know why you try.”

“I don’t want to be like that. I love myself.”

“I don’t think you do. You have low self-esteem…I know you do. And you’re fat, why would HIM love you?!”

“He loves me because of my heart and personality.”

“Are you sure? He doesn’t really love you. He feeds on your insecurity to get sex…I mean he has been lonely since Elysia died. You’re nothing to him…he only tells you what you want to hear to get in your panties. You poor little thing thinking a demon would really want anything to do with you.”

“That’s not true!”

“You and I both know it’s the truth. And how are you going to take this candid information? There’s a razor right there. Don’t resist temptation. You know you want to do it.”

“I promised HIM I would stop mutilating myself.”

“But HIM isn’t here. Do you always listen to what he says? This is your only way to cope with heartbreak and I think you should act upon your instincts.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” So I picked up the razor and swiped it over my skin gently and it felt so smooth on my skin like the first time I did so. It brought back feelings of content so I then took it again and stabbed it into my right wrist and swiped it. The blood gushed out yet I felt so high so I quickly wiped the blood away and stabbed myself with it again. After two minutes, I looked back up in the mirror and noticed my arms were covered in scars once again. The shadow came back into surface again and smiled at me.

“How does that make you feel?”

“Great. I feel content again.”

“HIM doesn’t want you to be content then. He wants you to have perfect skin so he’ll something to grab on while he forces you to sleep with him.”

“He doesn’t force me.”

“So you think. You deserve a nice bath in rosewater with rose petals. And now you know; you don’t need HIM…that is when a razor is near.” Then the shadow disappeared and I noticed that my bathtub was filled with rose petals and floated on the top of the rosewater so I went down and began to soak when I closed my eyes and fell asleep once again.

Time went on since HIM left to tend to a royal crisis, so I began to feel lonely and forgotten since I didn’t hear from him ever since. Eventually, I opened and reopened my self-inflicted scars because I missed him so much and I had no more company since both Moxie and Zodie stopped visiting me. Eventually, I became a hermit and didn’t even leave my room and I started forgetting to eat and I cried myself to sleep every night. But the point of no return was when I went to run my shower water one morning and I heard Dr. Jensen’s voice behind me so I thought it was Moxie standing behind me so I got excited until I looked back and noticed her shadow in my mirror. “I told you to stop cutting on yourself!,” she scolded. “You’ve disappointed me, Jodi. I expected so much more from you. What happened to the perky sophomore girl I used to know?”

“She’s still there.”

“No, she isn’t.” I caught a chill and looked back and then I noticed Dr. Jensen’s reflection in the mirror disappeared and was replaced with my reflection back senior year when I first started to cut myself and my reflection began to pull the sleeves from the shirt over them. “Jodi, what happened? What happened to us?,” she called out to me.

“This isn’t me.”

“This is you…this is us. We’re bound to these scars.”

“No, no we’re not.”

“Yes, we are…you just have to accept that.”

“No! No! No! I can’t! What am I?! This isn’t me!” I began to lose it so I picked up the shower chair from the shower and threw it at my mirror. The glass cracked and shattered then I fell on top of the shattered glass and before I closed my eyes, the last thing I saw was her…

 

“Jodi? Jodi? Are you okay?” Lucilia asked as I began to open my eyes. She was sitting by my side and had her hand on my cheek and then I noticed I was in the hospital and I had an IV sticking out of my arm and Lucilia, Ana, Janie, John, Jessica, and Jenny were all by my bedside to make sure I was okay. “Why am I here?”

“I heard a loud noise coming from your room so I ran in and I saw you lying unconscious on top of broken glass from the mirror. Luckily, you only had a few scars and bruises from the fall so the nurse bandaged both of your arms. But I noticed that your arms have scars on them again. Have you been cutting yourself again?”

“Yes, I haven’t been taking HIM’s absence very well.”

“Oh, you poor thing. I’m so sorry,” Lucilia said before she hugged me.

“Yeah, we had no idea,” Ana assured. “You should of visited.”

“I know. I regret not doing so.”

“So you really miss him, huh?” Jenny asked.

“Naw, Jessica. She just cut herself for the pleasure of it.”

“It’s fine. Yeah, I do. I really love him.”

“We all know,” Ana assured.

“This is the room,” the nurse told someone. Then I looked over to see Moxie and HIM walking into my room.

“Oh, my sweet Jodi!” HIM dramatically gasped before he threw his arms around me. “What happened to you? Moxie told me you were in trouble.”

“You were supposed to stay. Your princely duty comes first.”

“No, my wife’s health comes first. What happened?”

“I don’t really want to get into it.”

“I understand. But I’m in the right place. Seems like Shalone made her way to Earth.”

“Shalone?! Rayna and Jayna’s mother?” Jenny gasped.

“More like the most rogue demon in the Underworld other than Lezazu.”

“Well, Jessica, she wasn’t rogue when she was giving herself to the King.”

“He replaced her with another consort, remember?”

“Enough with the history, Moxie and I are now on the case to find her and bring her back to prison.”

“I’ll help you find her.”

“No, you must rest, my sweet Jodi.”

“Fine.”

“She can actually go home, HIM,” the doctor said after he came in. “She’s well enough to return home. She just woke up from her two day coma.”

“I was in a coma?”

“You hit your head pretty hard when you fell, Miss Foster. We’re just happy to see that you actually woke up we really thought you were a goner.”

“Oh.” HIM brought me home with Moxie following us back to my apartment and she assessed the broken glass in my bathroom only to come back claiming that she restored the mirror. He just put me in bed and tucked me in but not before kissing my forehead then he got up, turned the light off, and closed the door behind him. But I could hear him talking to Moxie in the living room.

“I wonder what happened to her. But I see she began to cut on herself again.”

“I feel Shalone’s presence in this room, HIM. I think she might have something to do with Jodi’s psychotic freak out.”

“Sounds about right. She’s probably upset that I stopped seeing Rayna and Jayna.”

“You need to talk to her, HIM. And I don’t think it is wise to leave her alone anymore.”

“I agree, Moxie. These demons find it too easy to mess with her. I have to put a stop to this. I’ll go back to check on her.”

“Be careful, HIM. And take care of her.”

“I know, Moxie. I will.” I heard everything he told Moxie, but I hurried to pretend I was asleep when he came into my room. He flicked the light on and threw the covers off of me before he picked me up and plopped on my bed with me in his arms. I cuddled closer to him then he waved his claw in front of me and made my nightgown vanish from my body before he planted his face into my neck and began to bite at my mark. I was surprised by the way he was acting but I relaxed under his control and felt his tongue press against where he bit me again. I moaned lovingly then he laid me back down on the bed and whispered, “I’m going to make it up to you.” His touch became softer on my skin as he kissed me all over then he got up from by me and stripped down himself and leaned over me before he took me fully and I groaned after, fully giving into his control. I grabbed at his neck as he kissed me again and I looked deep in his green eyes and I could see all the passion in his eyes and then I knew, I was not just his lover or girlfriend anymore…no, I was his princess, his wife, and the future mother of his other children. This was the moment that changed our relationship forever. Strangely enough, he seemed remorseful through the passion…like he wanted me to know he would never leave me alone again and he would always be with me. But the moment had to end eventually so he ended with a kiss and pulled me closer to him as he started to whisper sweet nothings in my ear. I sighed and moaned in satisfaction then I turned over and looked at him again and he had the sexiest bedroom eyes I had ever seen since our intimate relationship began. Then I moved my hand by his chest and I could feel his chest vibrate rapidly so I smiled and he buried his head by my breast and purred as he heard my heart beating rapidly. I just laughed and smiled before he picked his head back up and kissed me again but our loving moment ended when the shadow appeared over us.

“Get away from her! Get away from her!” the shadow hissed. Then a breeze fell and all of a sudden, the shadow threw HIM out of my bed.

“Zodie! What are you doing?!”

“He doesn’t love you, Jodi! I was trying to protect you! And then you let him rape you!”

“He did not rape me. I let him sleep with me. He’s my husband and I love him.”

“He doesn’t love you!” she demanded again.

“Stay away from her! Get back now!” HIM demanded after he got back up. “Jodi, this isn’t who you think this is. She tricked you.”

“Brava. You are so smart, His Infernal Majesty! I definitely am not Zodie, sister of Moxie; I’m Shalone, mother of Rayna and Jayna.”

“You’re the rogue demon!”

“You’re just getting that, Jodi? Wow, you aren’t very smart. And you’re so easy to manipulate.”

“Why are you messing with me?!”

“You replaced my daughters! HIM was bound to my daughters by a contract he and his father signed. But you came and ruined everything!”

“I ruined everything? He was married before me.”

“You also look like Shanti, who replaced me in King Lu’s absent heart.”

“Wait, what?”

“I was King Lu’s favorite consort but then he wanted another consort so then he found Shanti. He fell hard for her and kicked me to the curb. He showered her with gifts and gave her all the intimacy a female could ever want but she was still miserable so I convinced her to leave. She listened and left without a trace. And I went to win back Lu’s heart but he was all heartbroken about Shanti leaving so I went my separate way, mated with one of his soldiers, and birthed Rayna and Jayna. Your father was indebted to me, so he signed a contract stating that HIM would give himself to my daughters.”

“So you terrorized my wife because she looks like my mother?!”

“Exactly and she already has so many issues so it was easy.”

“What did she do to you, Jodi?”

“She was the shadow in my dreams where I was surrounded by mirrors and she convinced me that I was ugly and fat and forced me to cut on myself again. Then she used Dr. Jensen against me.”

“Of course. That’s why your arms are cut up again. Well, Shalone, you terrorized Jodi enough now you need to go.”

“No! I’m not done yet! I promised my daughters that they would never get pushed to the side like I did for some half pretty black girl that isn’t even that flattering. I mean, my daughters are aesthetically pleasing and she’s fat.”

“I’m not fat! I’m chubby and I’m not a half pretty black girl…I’m a beautiful young black woman who is going to be your future Queen.”

“Not if I can help it!” But before she could lash at me, a light just appeared in front of me and pushed Shalone away from me. The light darken and I made out Moxie’s form within it. Shalone crashed into my book shelf and fell hanging her head down but when Moxie went by her, Shalone poked her head back up and shot energy at her but Moxie caught herself and blocked the shot which made Shalone weakened by her own lethal shot.

“And that’s how we do it in Jersey…well, if I actually lived there of course. Looks like it’s time for you to go back to prison. I’ll take her off your hands.”

“What was that mutter about?” I asked HIM after Moxie left with Shalone.

“She sometimes says weird things.”

“Oh, so she’s like me.”

“Something like that,” he giggled. “Now where were we?”

“The second round…oh, and if you don’t mind, I’m a classic girl so I wouldn’t mind if you thrilled me like Michael and kissed me like Prince.”

“That’s a song, Jodi.”

“I know,” I giggled. He just giggled to and leaned over me again.

“I think I can thrill you much better than Michael and kiss you much better than Prince.”

“Well, maybe the Prince thing but I’m not so sure about the Michael thing.”

“We’ll just see about that, won’t we?”

 

_After it was all said and done, I fell back to sleep leaning on HIM’s chest and I was wrapped up in his arms. But once I opened my eyes again I was in the evil hall of mirrors once again humming “This Place Hotel” under my breath while I was picking up the broken mirror pieces by my feet. Then I saw a hand reaching out of the corner of my eye. “Do you need some help?” the gentle voice asked. I looked up and saw Shanti smiling at me. Her kinky curly, long hair blew in the gentle breeze that passed and her high cheek bones highlighted her freckles as she smiled. She saw I looked surprised so she kneeled down by me and began to pick up glass pieces and put them all in order on the giant mirror and then all of a sudden, clips from Dr. Jensen’s life began to play on the giant mirror. She did the same with Laurie and Melissa’s mirrors and the same happened. “It helps to know the whole story,” she moaned. “But only one deserved your concern.” Then the two mirrors on the side of the giant mirror turned into ash and were replaced by two new mirrors._

_“I miss her,” I moaned._

_“I know. But she’s doing well now. I’ll show you.” Then the clips stopped and started playing clips from right now. “I appreciate your concern for her. You really are a sweet person. And I know she appreciates your concern too.”_

_“Thank you, Shanti. But why are we both here?”_

_“My subconscious stays in this hall of mirrors. And apparently, your subconscious has found its way here as well.”_

_“Wow, but it’s terrorizing me.”_

_“Only if you let it terrorize you. Your subconscious doesn’t control you, you control your subconscious. I know this because we share many attributes as well as this subconscious.”_

_“Wow, so were you afraid of…”_

_“Michael Jackson? Yeah, deathly afraid until I was seven.”_

_“Wow, we really are the same person.”_

_“And now I’m a super fan.”_

_“Me too! Wow, where have you been all of my life?!” She giggled. “So you aren’t dead?”_

_“No, I’m very much alive. I’m just in another world.”_

_“Oh, well HIM really misses you.”_

_“I know. I miss him too and I always think about him. Sometimes I even watch him from afar. But it’s not time yet. I’m just glad he found you.”_

_“Thanks. He really is sweet.”_

_“He gets it from me of course…”_

_“Do you know Moxie by any chance?” I quickly asked._

_“I know of her. And I know she’s your protector for now.”_

_“Oh, okay.”_

_“But before I go, you might want to know this…”_

_“What?”_

_“You are in control so you can control what goes on with the mirrors. So you can replace your misery with all of the things you love such as Michael’s BAD era…” I screamed which made her stop in her tracks._

_“I guess you like that era too.”_

_“Yeah,” I squealed._

_“Or Steven…”_

_“Or Hater…oh, oh…and Loki!”_

_“Anything of those things. Just remember that you have the control. Be brave, young Jodi and keep my son close. I will see you again in another time but for now, I say farewell.”_

_“Bye, Shanti.”_

I woke up again to find myself wrapped tight in HIM’s grip and I felt his chest vibrate again and his purring as he slept. I giggled happily knowing that he could sleep well without worrying about me and that I finally was in control of my subconscious thanks to Shanti…


End file.
